From Surfboards to Diapers
by ParisIsBurning
Summary: My name is Bridgette Fields. I'm sixteen years old, and I'm pretty much just like any other typical teenager. Except for one thing: I'm pregnant. It's going to be tough, but with the help of a few friends, I just might make it. Maybe. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story was inspired by Aliciabobeesha's Secret Life of a Canadian Teenager. Reading the story somehow made me envision Bridgette and what would happen if she were in a similar situation. I really only intended to write this for fun to myself, but something was telling me I should go ahead and publish it. If you like it, please say so, or I might just let it rot :P.**

**This happens shortly after TDI. TDA and TDWT never happen.  
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**Enjoy! I own nothing :)**

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_Oh. My. God. This isn't happening. There has to be a mistake._

I stood absolutely frozen, staring at the little plus sign that was surely to ruin my life. My breath was growing shallow, and I was hoping that somehow this was all just a cruel and twisted nightmare. I pinched myself and closed my eyes. Nope, it hurt. This was real. This was happening.

"Bridgette, hurry up and finish stinking up the bathroom already! I need to take a shower!" I heard my little brother Alan scream as he knocked on the door several times. I looked down at the pregnancy test and started to panic.

_Shit, I have to hide this. If Alan finds this, I'm so beyond dead._

I stuffed the pregnancy test into my bra, and began to fold the box into a little square so I could stuff it down my bra as well.

"BRIDGETTE!" Alan screamed. I began to run the sink so it actually sounded like I was doing something.

"Calm down you little brat, I'm almost done!" I screamed back as I stuffed the box into my bra. You could see the little outline, so I folded my arms over my chest to hide it, turned off the sink, and opened the door to see Alan waiting not-so-patiently, tapping his foot.

"I wasn't 'stinking up the bathroom', I was just...uh, giving myself a little facial is all. But the bathroom's all yours now."

Alan snorted. "Yeah, right. Everyone knows that girls take craps, too. Quit trying to avoid embarrassment Bridge." He tilted his head. "Why are you folding your arms all awkwardly like that?"

My cheeks began to burn. "I...don't know what you're talking about. Now just go on and take your stupid shower already!" I ran past him and into my room, shutting the door behind me and taking a huge breath.

I was quick to take the box and pregnancy test out of my bra. Putting a peed-on stick on your skin isn't very ideal, after all. But I figured that would be nothing compared to what was coming next.

I began to panic again. What do I do? Who do I tell? Should I go see a doctor? How long can I put telling my family off?

The first person to come to my mind was Courtney. We had become really good friends after Total Drama, and it didn't take us long to realize that we actually lived near each other. She had always been really supportive of me during the show, and surely she could help me through this too. I grabbed my phone off of my nightstand and dialed her number, impatiently tapping my nails.

"Hey Bridge! What's up?" Courtney answered the phone.

I tried to keep my voice quiet so that nobody would overhear me. "Courtney, do you mind if I come over? I need to tell you something."

"Well sure thing...but what is it?"

"I...I think I should tell you in person. It's big."

"Big good or big bad?"

"...Let's just say, bad doesn't even begin to describe it."

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I didn't even have to knock on the door; Courtney was ready and waiting, and threw the door open the minute I pulled into her driveway.

"What's the matter, Bridge? You have to tell me right this second!" Courtney demanded with worry in her eyes.

"Can we...at least get to your room? I told you, this is huge..." I was choking back tears.

Courtney took my hand and ran me up straight to her room, ignoring her parents, who looked surprised that I was over without warning. She shut the door and locked it.

"Okay, now TELL ME. You really worried me with that phone call, you know."

Suddenly, I was at a loss for words. The tears I had been holding back were released full force.

"What happened? Was there a death? Did you get in a really bad fight with someone?" Courtney inquired. I shook my head.

"What is it? You can tell me, Bridge. Just spit it out."

Instead of speaking, I dug the pregnancy test out of my bag and threw it at her. Courtney took a glance at it and her eyes widened in shock.

"Bridgette...is this what I think it is?"

I nodded, covering my face from the shame.

"Oh my god...Bridgette!" Courtney screamed. "How did you...how did this happen?"

My legs began to shake, and I took a seat on her bed. I finally spoke, my crying making it hard to breathe.

"How does it always happen, Courtney? Geoff...I...we...it was the last day before everyone was supposed to leave the resort...we...it was really quick and I hated it...I hadn't thought about it until...this happened..." I fell back on her bed. "Courtney, what am I going to do?"

"Bridgette..." Courtney seemed at a loss for words, too. She knelt down beside the bed and started to caress my hair.

"I'm only sixteen, Courtney..." I could only manage a whisper by now. "I don't even have a job. I can barely handle high school, and now I have to handle a baby? I don't know what to do...do I give it up, or do I keep it, or do I abort it and just pretend nothing happened? When do I tell my parents? When do I tell Geoff? He lives almost three hours away! How could he even have a part in the baby's life? That is, if he doesn't make a run for it!"

"Well..." Courtney stood up. "You know how I make big decisions like this? I make a pros and cons list. Do you want to try that?"

The idea sounded absolutely ridiculous. I was deciding on my baby's future, not something stupid like what to prepare my family for dinner or what to wear tomorrow. However, being curled up on her bed crying, I felt like I had no choice. Plus, her mind was probably functioning a lot better than mine, anyways.

"O-okay." I muttered. Courtney grabbed a few sheets of paper.

"So which one do you want to start with? How about abortion?" Courtney didn't give me time to answer, and quickly scribbled "Abortion" at the top, followed by a T-chart with pros on one side and cons on the other. "Remember, this is all up to you. Don't let me be a big influence. So pros. Start listing some."

"Well...I trailed off. "The baby would be out of my hair, and nobody would know I was ever pregnant...but..." I started crying some more as Courtney scribbled what I was saying down. "I'd be killing the baby. I'd be killing an innocent life. What if this baby goes on to do something great? I'd hate myself for the rest of my life. And Mom always told me that I can't just run away from my problems. Plus, some of the things they do..."

Courtney took the abortion paper and crumpled it in her hand. "Well I guess we can count that option out."

I covered my face with my hands. "Oh my god, I sound like one of those annoying protesters that stand outside of the clinics. I don't mean it like that. I just think...this is my fault, Courtney. I just..."

"No, no. It's okay. You still have the other two options. Just breathe. This is your decision, Bridgette. Don't feel guilty about it."

I took a deep breath. "This is all too much. I just..."

Courtney set the paper down and headed for the door. "I'll go get you a glass of water. Just relax. Take a few deep breaths." Courtney opened the door, only to notice her Mom standing right outside, looking shocked.

"Mom! Are you really eavesdropping?" Courtney screamed, so loud that I had to cover my ears to avoid a headache. "This is personal!"

Her mom looked shocked. "What? No...I was just...I didn't hear anything!"

I sat up and snickered a little. "No, it's okay, Ms. Gibbs. Everyone's going to find out eventually. I guess I have to start somewhere."

"Look, I'm really sorry...I just saw you guys run up so frantically and I was concerned something was wrong. I wasn't expecting to overhear...I'm so sorry Bridgette, this is none of my business."

"Mom, this is a total invasion of privacy! You wouldn't even understand!" Courtney screamed.

"Actually..." Ms. Gibbs stepped into the room. "I think I could. You know, Courtney, I had your older sister when I was just eighteen. I've been in Bridgette's situation before."

Courtney rolled her eyes. "I know _that_, but..." Courtney was trying and failing at being defiant. She always had to be right; it was just in her nature.

"Bridgette, instead of sitting in Courtney's room making lists, I think you need to go see a doctor first, not only to verify your pregnancy, but so that you know what to expect during the pregnancy as well. Sitting in here making pro and con lists aren't going to help you in the long run." Ms. Gibbs sat on Courtney's bed. "You do need to tell your boyfriend and your parents as soon as possible. You're going to need all the support you can get."

"But...I'm scared. My parents are going to be so angry..." I replied. "They're probably going to kick me out of the house!"

Courtney hopped onto the bed on the other side of me. "Well even if they do...I'll be here for you, no matter what."

Ms. Gibbs smiled and gave me a little hug. "You'll always have us as family even if your real family doesn't accept you. I'll be here to help you if you need some advice."

For a brief moment I felt just a tad bit better. "This really means a lot to me, Ms. Gibbs. Thank you. And you too, Courtney. I just...now what do I do?"

Ms. Gibbs reached over and handed me my phone. "Call your doctor and schedule an appointment. You need to know for sure that you're pregnant."

"And if I really am?"

"We'll go from there. I really would just like you to see a doctor. The doctor knows better than Courtney or even I do."

"I'll go with you if you need me to!" Courtney chimed in.

I smiled weakly. "That would be great."

But even this false sense of security couldn't mask the intense fear I felt. Sure, I would go to the doctor, and the doctor would give me advice, but then what do I do? And I still had to worry about Geoff and my parents' reactions, too.

I had a long road ahead of me. A very, very long road ahead of me.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow! This story became a lot more popular than I expected. Thank you so much for the reviews/alerts/favorites. I'm finding this story a lot easier to write than my other ones. Just because it feels more realistic I guess (not that I've ever been pregnant before). I've actually been reading a lot of stories about teen moms to try to get more into Bridgette's shoes.**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

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"Well, Ms. Fields, you are most definitely pregnant. You are at five weeks." The doctor announced as she stepped back into my room. Courtney squeezed my hand.

I'm not going to lie: I hadn't paid much attention in health class. And being in the doctor's office just made my pregnancy-related stupidity much worse, since I was so nervous.

"What does that mean?" I asked. The doctor bit her lip a bit, as if trying to stifle a laugh.

"Most pregnancies go for about forty weeks, Ms. Fields. When we tell you that you're x-number of weeks along, that's you getting closer to the forty mark."

I took a deep breath. "So I've got a long way to go."

The doctor giggled a bit. So did Courtney.

"Yes you do, Ms. Fields."

I blushed. "Sorry."

The doctor took back her smile, trying not to further embarrass me. "If I recall correctly, earlier you were asking about the different options for your unborn child. I don't have time to discuss the options in detail with you today, but I can give you these three brochures that give you a little insight to what to expect with each decision. This is a big deal, Ms. Fields, and I wouldn't expect you to decide today, or tomorrow, or even this week. Please realize this, Ms. Fields. We've had a lot of women who rush the decision and later regret it."

I nodded wordlessly as the doctor handed me the brochures.

"All right Ms. Fields, we will see you again on the 21st. Be sure to start taking your prenatal vitamins, it's imperative. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to call our office."

Courtney stood up, and I followed, shaking at the knees. I had been at the doctor's for well over a couple of hours, and the stuff she had been telling me was a _lot_ to take in for a sixteen year old. I couldn't even remember half of what she said. She would ramble on a mile a minute about the vitamins I needed to be taking, precautions, dietary changes, parenting classes available, blah blah blah. I was beyond overwhelmed.

Courtney gave me a hug once the doctor had left the room. "It's all going to be okay, Bridgette."

I sighed. "I don't know. The doctor sure did throw a lot at me. I don't even remember anything she said."

Courtney beamed and pulled out a notepad. "No problem! I took notes. I had a feeling you might forget a few things here and there."

I snorted. "Typical Courtney."

Courtney jokingly punched me on the arm. "Hey! I'm just trying to help!" Her expression softened. "I told you that I'm going to be here for you no matter what. We're in this together."

I smiled. "Thanks." I took a deep breath. "I think I'm going to tell my parents tonight. They're making a nice dinner tonight, it's perfect timing."

Courtney pulled me into another hug; a longer one. "Good luck! I know you're probably really nervous right now. Don't be afraid to swing by our house if anything goes wrong. My mom is more than willing to talk to yours about this whole thing. Plus, sometimes adults are better at listening to other adults than kids."

"Courtney, I have a baby growing inside of me. I don't think I'm a kid anymore." I replied with a frown.

Courtney rolled her eyes and smiled. "You know what I meant."

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Having to part ways with Courtney and go home was really hard. She and Ms. Gibbs had become my utmost support these last couple of days, and not having them around made me nervous. Plus, tonight was going to be the night I was going to tell my parents. I was so scared for how they were going to react.

I went into my room and began to pack my bags, just in case. If they _were_ going to kick me out, I wanted to be ready to run straight out the door. I pulled out a couple of my hugest bags and just start stuffing clothes at random, without paying much attention. I packed my essentials: toothbrush, hairbrush, deodorant, iPod, cell phone, laptop, chargers, and a bit of makeup. I was nearing tears the entire time. I didn't _want_ to have to use the bag. I just wanted to be magically not pregnant and not have to worry. I wanted to go back to before TDI when my biggest worry was getting the chance to surf on the weekends.

And then I remembered: I had to tell Geoff, too. I didn't want to tell him today, that's for sure. Telling my parents would be a shock enough. He wouldn't be the type to run off...right? One side of me remembered the caring boyfriend side of Geoff: the one that made me cute artwork, the one that swept me off my feet when he got to the resort, the one who would kiss me and hold me for hours and tell me how much he loves me. But then I remembered the _other_ Geoff: the one who loved to party recklessly, the one who had no sense of responsibility, the one who would scream "bros before hoes" into the phone when calling his old buddies before making some sort of catcall. So essentially, it felt like when I told him, I'd either get Boyfriend Geoff or Careless Party Geoff. I was scared to see which one I would get.

"Bridgette! Alan! Dinner's ready!" I heard my mom scream from downstairs. I gulped back my nerves.

_You can do this Bridgette. You have to. There's no escaping it._

I heard Alan run downstairs and I knew I'd have to follow. My whole body was shaking.

As I left my room, the savory-sweet smell of homemade spaghetti filled my nose and calmed me a little. Spaghetti was one of my favorites. It was a family favorite, actually. Maybe it would put them in a better mood.

_Okay, that's ridiculous_ I thought. _Spaghetti won't lighten up a teenage pregnancy_.

I stepped into the kitchen slowly. Alan and Dad were already sitting at the table, and Mom was tasting the spaghetti sauce at the counter.

"Geesh Bridgette, what took you so long? You're always the first one at the table for spaghetti night!" Mom exclaimed with a warm smile.

I shrugged and faked a smile. "I don't know. Just tired I guess." I let out a nervous giggle and took a seat next to Alan.

Mom took the pot of sauce and the pot of noodles and sat them in the middle of the table. "All right everybody! Dig in!"

Somehow I thought I wouldn't be eating very much. But I still filled my bowl up pretty far so I wouldn't raise suspicion. Every move I made was being carefully plotted in my head.

_Maybe you shouldn't have taken so much. If they see something's wrong the news won't hit them so hard._

_ No, I don't want them to worry, I just want to throw it out there._

_ Just eat normally._

_ No, maybe you should seem just a little bit down._

_ Or maybe you should compliment them so they're in a better mood._

Mom cut off my thoughts.

"So Bridge, Alan, you two are going back to school in a couple of weeks. Are you guys excited to see all of your friends again?"

"I bet Bridge is!" Dad replied before we could. "After leaving for a month to go compete in Total Drama Island, she probably hasn't seen anybody this whole summer!"

Mom swallowed a bite of spaghetti. "Alan, you should be too. You're going to be in the eighth grade this year! You're at the top of the middle school food chain!"

Alan shrugged and talked with his mouth full of noodles. "I guess so. I don't know, it's not that cool. I'm kind of sick of that stinky middle school. I can't wait to get to hit on older high school chicks."

I rolled my eyes. Alan could be such a perv.

"What about you, Bridge?" Mom asked. "Are you excited to be a junior? You're an upperclassman this year!"

I was so nervous that I forgot to reply. I awkwardly stuffed spaghetti in my mouth to buy myself some time.

"I bet she's going to be overwhelmed being a small-town celebrity. Everybody's going to be asking her about her summer. Thankfully she's got Courtney by her side so she doesn't have to deal with it alone." Dad chuckled.

I swallowed. "Yeah. Ha."

"I just find that so funny, that you guys went to the same school, same grade level, and didn't even know each other until after Total Drama." Mom chimed in.

I shrugged. "It's a big school."

Alan continued to talk with his mouth full. "Yeah. One of my friend's older brothers told me that there's like three thousand kids there now or something."

"Not quite, Alan. There's about twenty-two hundred." Dad replied.

I began to aimlessly twirl my spaghetti on my fork. It was really hard to eat with all of the nerves.

"Is everything okay, Bridge?" Mom asked.

_Now's your chance. Just say it._

I began to shake wildly. I felt like I was going to throw up.

"Mom...Dad...there's something I have to tell you. Please try to stay calm..."

Mom set her fork down and widened her eyes with concern. "What's the matter Bridge?"

I took a deep breath. Actually, several deep breaths. I kept waiting for the courage to speak to come to me.

"Well, something sort of happened while I was at the resort...er...well..." I kept beating around the bush.

Alan dropped his fork. "OH MY GOD. I BET YOU'RE PREGNANT!"

Any louder, and the neighbors might've heard.

Dad widened his eyes; at Alan, not me.

"Alan! That's not something you just joke about! Pregnancy is a big deal, and implying that Bridgette is-"

Tears began to well in my eyes. "Dad. He's right."

"What?" Mom was so shocked that she didn't even scream. It was more of a breathy, choked up whisper.

Dad wasn't afraid to raise his voice, though. "You're _what? _How did this...Who's the father?"

The tears came, stronger than when I had told Courtney. I completely let go and told them everything.

"It's Geoff. We just...we fell in love and we knew that we were going to be separated and...I didn't think...it only happened once and...I'm five weeks along...I went to the doctor today with Courtney. I'm sorry. I hate myself. I didn't want this to happen. I didn't think this would happen to me. But it did."

Mom was shocked beyond words.

Dad completely lost control. "I KNEW IT. I knew it was a big mistake letting you even compete on that show in the first place! The minute I saw you with that dumbassed party boy I knew I should've called and had you sent home! But no, I decided to trust you just this once! AND LOOK WHAT YOU DID!"

I rested my head on the table and began crying even harder. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Everyone went silent for a second. Dad was fuming. Mom still looked as shocked as when I had first came clean. And Alan looked smug, as if he had been expecting this to happen.

Finally, after a long, awkward silence, Mom exhaled.

"I'm going to call the abortion clinic tomorrow and schedule you for an appointment. Let's get this out of hair as soon as possible."

What?

I knew I was in a bad position to argue, but there was no way I was going to abort. I had already decided that.

"Actually Mom, I already decided that I'm not going to do abortion. I'm going to either keep the baby or give it up for adoption."

Mom opened her mouth and dropped her fork again. She looked taken aback.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Bridgette, and I certainly did not ask for you to make this decision by yourself. Tomorrow I'm calling the abortion clinic, and we are going to abort that baby. Understood?"

"No! I'm _not_ aborting this baby!" I screamed.

"Do you understand what a big responsibility it is to raise a baby, Bridgette? You're sixteen! You're not ready to be a mother yet! Not to mention that the father of this baby lives in another town that's almost four hours away! How do you expect to get support from such a long distance?"

"Just because I don't abort doesn't mean I'm going to become a mother; like I said, there's also adoption."

"YOU ARE GOING TO ABORT THIS BABY. THAT'S FINAL." Mom fumed.

I stood up, defiant and angry. "NO! I'M NOT ABORTING THIS BABY! IT'S MY BABY AND I CAN DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH IT!"

Mom stood up alongside me. Her face was so red that it was almost purple.

"As long as you are my daughter and you are living under this house, you are going to FOLLOW MY RULES. If you tell me no one more time..."

I started to storm towards the stairs. Anger overtook any rationale and common sense I might've had. "Okay FINE! I GUESS I'M JUST NOT YOUR DAUGHTER ANYMORE." I started to run up the stairs, with intent of grabbing the bags I had packed earlier.

"BRIDGETTE ELAINE FIELDS YOU GET BACK DOWN HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

I ignored her, running straight into my room and grabbing the two giant bags. I was glad I had prepared.

I didn't make any eye contact as I headed back down the stairs, grabbed my keys, and ran to the front door.

"OKAY FINE!" I heard Mom scream as I began to leave. "JUST GO OUT THERE, GO LIVE ALONE WITH YOU AND YOUR STUPID BABY. BUT DON'T YOU DARE COME CRYING TO ME WHEN YOU'RE HOMELESS AND YOUR BABY IS HUNGRY. CAUSE YOU'RE NOT MY DAUGHTER ANYMORE, AND I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE A DAMN."

I slammed the door behind me. I ran quickly to my car, tears beginning to refill my eyes. I drove straight to Courtney's house without any hesitation. I didn't take any time to stop and recollect or even slow down to a decent speed, I just drove straight there as fast as humanly possible.

When I arrived and knocked on the door with my bags, I didn't even have to speak. Courtney could sense a bit of what happened and immediately pulled me into a long hug.

"It's okay, everything's going to be okay. You're welcome here."

I just held on to Courtney, once again speechless.

"D-do you want to talk...about it? About what happened?" Courtney asked. "Mom's in the other room if you want to talk to her about it, too."

I took a deep breath and tried to recollect myself. "Yeah, I think I need to tell someone. Just to let off a bit of steam."

Courtney led me into her living room, where Ms. Gibbs was watching a movie. Upon seeing me, though, she immediately paused it.

"Oh honey...did something happen? What's wrong? Feel free to spill."

I sat down on the couch and exhaled softly. "Well, I told Mom and Dad."

"I'm guessing it didn't go so well?"

Courtney took a seat next to me and held my hand as I shook my head.

"It was terrible! I told them, and Dad kept telling me it was a huge mistake letting me onto the show and so on, and...Mom told me that I was going to get an abortion, no questions asked. So I told her that, actually, I had already decided against abortion and that I was deciding between adoption and keeping the baby. But she told me it wasn't my decision and that as long as I was her daughter I was going to follow her rules. So I told her I wasn't her daughter anymore and I just up and left. It made me so angry!" I rambled on. "She thinks I'm going to end up homeless and starving...I'll show her! I'll keep the baby and I'll get a job and I'll support us and we'll be fine! Better than fine! She'll regret ever letting me go!"

"Well sweetie, you were absolutely right in not letting her decide what you were going to do with your baby. I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself in that aspect." Ms. Gibbs replied calmly. "But I think you should give the final decision just a little more thought. I'd definitely tell Geoff first and find out what he thinks and see if he's even willing to stick around. But you are absolutely welcome here as long as you need to stay."

I smiled for the first time in a long time. "Thanks so much Ms. Gibbs. And you're right. I'll call Geoff tomorrow."

"But for now, let's get you settled in our guest room." Ms. Gibbs stood up and took one of my bags. "Why don't you take a nice bath and call it a night? I bet you've had a long day."

Ms. Gibbs and Courtney led me into a small room with a twin bed and a little dresser, with a small bathroom inside.

"Just make yourself at home. I'll leave you alone for the night. But if you need anything, feel free to call me."

I gave Ms. Gibbs a hug. "You're the best. You really are. Thank you so much."

"Honey it's no problem. I just...I know how nice it would've been if someone were here to help me when I had gotten pregnant. I want you to have what I didn't."

Courtney seemed awkward, as if she were left out of something. "Okay Mom, let's give her some peace. Like you said, she's probably had a long day."

And with that, they were gone. I collapsed onto my new bed and exhaled loudly.

If Mom and Dad, people who were supposed to love me unconditionally, were so quick to get rid of me, who's to say that Geoff would stick around?

Only thirty-five more weeks to go.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow! I can't believe how popular this story is becoming. Thanks so much guys (: for the reviews and favoriting and alerting. This chapter isn't the greatest; I wanted one to focus solely on Geoff and his reactions. The next chapter should be a bit more exciting.**

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"You're pregnant?" Geoff screamed into the phone. "How did you let this happen? Are you _sure_ I'm the father?"

"I-I'm sorry Geoff. And...yes...you are the father."

"It's impossible. I wore a condom."

"Maybe t-the condom b-b-broke." I could barely talk.

"I bet it didn't! I bet you've been whoring around!"

"No! I haven't!"

"You're lying Bridge! Who's to say you haven't been with every guy in that city of yours? I live far away, how am I even to tell?"

"I haven't been whoring around, Geoff!"

"You dirty little slut. You go and whore around with other guys _while_ you have a boyfriend, but once you get pregnant you decide it's perfectly okay to just set the blame on me and make me play the father."

"GEOFF I WASN'T WHORING AROUND FOR THE LAST TIME."

"You're such a pathetic liar. Why don't you go contact the real father? Do you even know? I bet you don't. I bet there's like ten guys that could be the father, right?"

"Geoff..."

"Don't ever contact me again you nasty little whore. We're so over. Good luck to that poor little baby. I hope it doesn't grow up to be dirty and skanky like you."

"Geoff please...I never...please."

_Click._

My hands were shaking wildly and I let the phone fall from my hands and onto the bed.

Suddenly, Courtney barged into the door. Her eyes seemed so angry that they were practically glowing red.

"I'm sick of trying to be nice to a dirty little whore." She retorted coldly. "I want you to get out of my house."

"What? I-I thought you...But you said..."

"I don't like to help filthy people like you."

"Courtney...please...don't turn on me...I have nowhere else to go..."

"Tell it to somebody who cares."

I screamed as Courtney began to slowly pace towards me; looking as if she were going to kill me.

"Nobody likes you, Bridgette. Just face it. You're all alone. You're filthy and pathetic."

"P-please...no..."

"In fact," Courtney stepped closer. "Maybe I should just put us all out of our misery and get rid of you and that stupid baby _right now._"

"Courtney please...NO!"

I screamed and awoke. I found myself tangled in the sheets, sweat dripping off my forehead and panting heavily. My fists were clenching the sides of the bed.

I noticed Courtney standing near the side of my bed and screamed again, throwing my hands up.

"Please don't kill me! I'm not a dirty whore! Please!"

Courtney's eyes widened. "What? I just came to tell you that Mom made us breakfast! And I would _never_ call you a dirty whore!"

I took a few deep breaths and blinked a couple of times.

It was all a dream. Well, a nightmare.

I took a few more deep breaths and began to relax a little.

"Are you okay Bridge?" Courtney inquired, stepping closer to the bed.

I sighed and closed my eyes. "Yeah...I just had a really bad dream, that's all."

Courtney sat down at the foot of the bed. "Another one? You've been having lots of scary dreams lately."

She was right; I had been putting off telling Geoff The News for several days, and ever since, I had been having dreams about the different negative reactions he might have. I'd have several dreams in one night. It was like my mind was trying to cover every reaction possible. It started with the typical ones; angry, happy, getting dumped, but they progressed into stranger outcomes, like him deciding he was never-turning-back-gay and unfit for parenthood, instant suicide, him magically being pregnant, too, and, of course, the one like I just had. That was the first one where Courtney was involved, though.

"Bridge, I think you need to tell him soon."

I nodded and sat up. "I'm so nervous."

Courtney petted my leg. "I know. I would be too. But Geoff really loves you. He's not going to run off right away...or turn gay and decide he's never going to become a parent." Courtney giggled. "And if he does bail...well, he's not worth it anyways."

"But what is he going to do, Courtney? He lives all the way in Westerberg. I haven't even seen him since the show ended. We only planned on monthly visits during the school year. How can he be a supportive father if he only visits once a month?"

Courtney sighed. "I hadn't thought about that. You guys are going to have to discuss that."

"Yeah exactly!" I replied with a groan. "I hate this so much."

"No no no! Don't give up hope just yet! You still have lots of time to decide what to do. Everything will be okay."

I groaned again and scooted back down into the bed. "You say that now...but before you know it I'll be a week off from my due date and I still won't have told Geoff and have absolutely no idea what to do. I can't wait forever, you know."

Courtney paused in thought.

"Sorry, I don't mean to be so grumpy." I sighed. "Must be the hormones."

"It's okay. How about you make a pact to call Geoff tonight. You don't have to tell him tonight, but let him know that you have something big to tell him and set aside a time for you to tell him."

"I guess I'm going to have to."

Courtney hopped off the bed and beckoned me for the door. "Come on! Breakfast is going to get cold! Plus, you _are_ eating for two now!"

xxxxxxxxxx

I held the phone in my hand with Geoff's contact pulled up, ready to press 'call', but I couldn't get the nerve to do it.

I knew I was supposed to be doing this alone, but Courtney was in the room with me. Even if it was supposed to be really personal, I knew I would just end up telling her anyways. And she had seen me cry, so if things got ugly, I didn't have too much to worry about.

"Go on Bridgette. Call his number. You can do this."

I closed my eyes and pressed the little green 'call' button. I felt like throwing up.

_Ring, ring, ring..._

After what felt like an hour, Geoff picked up the phone.

"Babe! Oh my gosh! How are you doing? You have called or texted in ages, I was getting worried! I miss you so much snookums. I've been talking about you nonstop to my buddies."

I was so wrapped up in the whole baby news that I had forgotten to text or call him for about a week now. Oops. Hearing him sound so happy made me feel even sicker.

"Geoff! Snookiebear! I missed you too! And I'm really sorry for ignoring you, it's just..." I started to choke up. Courtney made urging movements with her hands to encourage me to keep going.

"Listen, Geoff, I don't want to worry you out or anything but...there's something..._really_ big that I have to tell you. If you're really busy right now then we can wait until later, because it's going to take lots of conversation."

"No I'm not doing anything right now, I'm just sitting in my room relaxing..." Geoff trailed off. His voice grew quieter. "Bridge...you're not...breaking up with me are you?"

My eyes widened, though he couldn't see that. "What? No! Far from it!"

_Although you might want to break up with me once you find out the big news._

"Well I'm not doing anything and won't be for awhile. Just come out and say it. How bad can it be? I can't think of anything, since you're not breaking up with me..."

"Don't say that just yet..." I muttered, trailing off. "I'd sit down, Geoff. And you need to promise me that you can be serious and that you're willing to discuss this."

"Well sure babe."

I sighed. "Okay...are you ready for this?"

"Babe, just get on with it. You're making me a little nervous."

_Just cut right to it, Bridge. Just throw it out there. Don't beat around._

I didn't listen to the voice inside my head, though.

"Geoff...do you remember...that night that we...you know..."

Geoff's voice softened. "Of course babe! You don't think I'd just forget that do you? Why, what about it? What makes you bring that up?"

"Geoff...I...god I don't know how to say this at _all_..."

"Babe! It's me! I love you and you know that you can tell me anything! Just come out and say it!"

"Geoff."

"Yeah babe?"

"I...I'm pregnant."

Silence.

I began to hold my breath, waiting for a reply. He took so long that I almost began to think he had hung up.

"Geoff?"

"Oh my god..." he whispered.

"I..." I stuttered into the phone.

"It's...it's mine...right?"

I exhaled. "Yes Geoff! You're the only person I've been with."

"Oh my god...I...don't even...I'm sort of in a state of shock right now...promise me you're not trying to play a prank on me..."

"You think I would want to joke about this?" I shouted. "I'm five weeks pregnant with our baby, and I managed to get myself kicked out of my house for it...that's not a very funny joke!"

"Bridge...I shouldn't have...we should have never...Bridge I'm so sorry...I can' t believe this...I can't believe this is happening."

"No Geoff...it's both of our faults."

"Bridge...what are we going to do? We're sixteen...you live all the way in Vancouver..." Geoff's voice was growing quieter and quieter as he talked. "Look, Bridge, I think I'm going to need some time to process this. Can I call you back tomorrow or something? Wow."

Every part of me wanted to scream "No! You're in this just as much as I am! We need to come up with some sort of plan!" but all I could do was simply mutter "okay". He hung up without even saying "goodbye".

I dropped my phone onto the bed and sighed.

"Well...how did it go?" Courtney inquired.

I belly-flopped onto the bed and groaned. "I don't really know, Court. He told me he'd call me back tomorrow. But who says he will?"

"Oh Bridge...you have to give him a little bit of time. It's big news. It takes a lot of adjusting."

"But why does he get to take time to adjust? I didn't get that chance! I was stuck with it!"

Courtney sat on the bed and ran her fingers through my hair. "It's okay, Bridge. He's going to come around."

"I'm scared." I whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Ughhh I hate how life just gets all crazy once I start writing :(. This chapter is more of a transition chapter than an actual chapter, so it's not _too_ great, but I promise next chapter should be a lot better.**

**Sorry for the delay :( I'll try to work faster next time.**

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**

The next few nights blurred by so quickly that it all felt like one single day. I had been glued to the laptop, googling everything baby related. I started to get a little bit of an idea on what to expect, but it all sounded scary. Morning sickness, mood swings, weight gain...uh, no thank you.

Financially, I had no idea how I was going to even provide for the baby. I had a little bit of money in the bank from babysitting last summer, but I was using that to pay for my phone and gas. It'd run out before I knew it. I knew I would have to go out and find a job, but I couldn't think of one employer who would want to hire a sixteen-year-old pregnant girl.

I couldn't complain too much, though. Courtney and Ms. Gibbs had been wonderful to me. I was more than grateful that I had someone who had gone through all of this give me advice. Not a lot of teen moms had that available to them.

However, above all, the one thing that was stressing me out the most was Geoff. He hadn't called or texted since I had told him the news, and, well, I was beyond worried. What was going through _his_ head? Was he even concerned about it at all? For all I knew, he could be out partying, leaving me in the dust, forgetting that there was even a baby, stranding me. I didn't want that to happen. It couldn't. I needed him. I _really_ needed him.

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_Bridgey-widgey! I just got back from Australia last night! You would not believe how happy I am to be home (not that I didn't enjoy it!) Oh my god I have so much to tell you...but I bet you have even more to tell me! I was able to watch Total Drama in Australia...well okay, it was through YouTube but whatever. You and Geoff...major cuteness! Anyways, I love you and miss you like crazy babe! I'll see you at school tomorrow! Can't wait! xx. Love, Zooey-Bear._

I woke up to a rather lengthy text from my best friend Zooey. I had been so caught up in baby stuff that I had forgotten she'd be coming back from her summer-long Australia trip fairly soon. I felt guilty; not only for being as excited as I should be that she was back in Vancouver, and the fact that we had promised each other we'd have the best summer of our lives. She'd be coming back with all of these cool stories about her adventures in Australia, and I'm going back with nothing but a baby and the fact that I lost TDI.

I rolled out of bed, and suddenly had a really bad urge to throw up. I wasn't quite able to make it to the bathroom, but I managed to get it into the nearby trashcan. It was quite a large puke, too. Having to look at it made me want to puke again. How disgusting.

"I guess I've got morning sickness now," I muttered to myself as I took out the soiled trash bag and tied it up, carrying it with me up to the kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen, Ms. Gibbs took one look at the trash bag and seemed to understand perfectly.

"I'll take that out sweetheart. Are you feeling okay right now?"

I scratched my head and sighed. "Yeah. I guess so. Well, physically. I still feel like a big mess, and I'm nervous to go back to school tomorrow."

Ms. Gibbs stepped closer and ran her fingers through my hair. "I know it's going to be really tough, but remember, you'll always have Courtney by your side. And I'm sure your other friends will support you, too."

"I bet a ton of people are going to start calling me a slut."

Before Ms. Gibbs could respond, Courtney ran into the kitchen smiling, waving her car keys in her hand.

"Hurry and eat some breakfast, Bridge! We're going back-to-school shopping today! And I invited your friend Zooey...I'm sure you really miss her."

I cocked my head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "How did you know who Zooey was? And how did you get in touch?"

Courtney snickered and sat down next to me at the table. "I cheated and looked at your text message this morning, and then I called her and invited her to come shopping with us. She said she'd absolutely love to."

I giggled at how blunt Courtney was. "So...did you tell her about...what happened?"

"Nah, I figured that was probably more of your place to tell her. How do you think she'll react?"

I shrugged. "She's a pretty chill person. She might be a little surprised but nothing too extreme."

xxxxxxxxxx

"YOU'RE WHAT?" Zooey screamed right in the middle of Old Navy. Courtney quickly rushed to put her hands over Zooey's mouth.

"Mmmphfleurthmmmm!" Zooey tried to speak with Courtney's hand on her mouth. Courtney took her hand off.

"Oh my god Bridge...I can't believe...you and Geoff...you actually...this is so crazy!"

I sighed. So much for chill.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: A new update. What is this madness? Sorry for life getting so crazy :( I've been trying so hard.**

**I really owe you guys a huge thank you, though! This story has become my most popular so far. I love all of the feedback so much. Really, it makes me happy-dance everytime I read it.**

**Enjoy!**

**xxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

I rolled over and hit the 'snooze' button on my alarm clock. I hadn't gotten much sleep last night, really. A mixture of nerves, pregnancy-induced sickness, and general stress kept me tossing and turning. Not that this wasn't completely unusual. Today just happened to be the first day of school.

I laid my head back down to try and get a few more precious seconds of sleep in, only to have Ms. Gibbs wake me up.

She snickered a little bit as she walked into my room. "Bridgette, I know you must be tired, but you really need to go to school."

I groaned and buried my head in the pillow.

"Come on. I made your favorite; eggs on toast. I thought it might perk you up a little bit."

Food in general just sounded gross. I felt like throwing up. However I knew I couldn't be ungrateful. Ms. Gibbs was really going out of her way to make me comfortable. The least I could do was swallow down an egg or two.

I rolled over and sat up, a huge, forced grin spreading on my face.

"Aww thanks Ms. Gibbs! It sounds delicious!"

I slowly stood up; it took me a little longer than usual because my knees were beginning to grow a bit sore. I had to breathe through my mouth to keep the obnoxious egg scent out of my nose. It was too overwhelming.

Courtney set her newspaper onto the kitchen table as I walked in, already fully dressed and ready to go even though it was only 7 A.M. A plate with eggs stacked on toast was sitting next to her.

"Good morning Bridgette!" Courtney beamed, scooting the plate closer to me.

I sat down and just stared at the food for a few minutes.

"Well, dig in! You don't need to wait for us; we already ate!" Courtney exclaimed, picking her newspaper back up. I sighed.

Swallowing a few bites was really hard. The food just tasted awful for some reason.

It only took five bites before I lost control and puked all over my side of the table. I gasped and wiped away the last few bits from my mouth.

"Oh my god...I'm so sorry!" I shouted, standing up to make a run for some paper towels.

Courtney tried her best not to make a face. "It's okay, Bridgette. It's not your fault."

"It's entirely my fault," I muttered bitterly under my breath as I unrolled a few paper towels. "This is all my damn fault."

Courtney didn't seem to hear me; she went right back to her newspaper as if nothing happened.

After cleaning up my mess, I got myself dressed, not bothering much to look great. My reputation was soon to be in ruins; why bother trying?

"Are you ready?" Courtney called from the hallway. I took a deep breath and grabbed my bag.

She tossed me a huge water bottle and grabbed her keys.

"You're going to need that, Mom says. She says you need to be drinking a lot more water."

"O-okay." I stuttered, tossing it carelessly into my bag. My nerves were _really_ getting to me.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Bridgette, relax. It's just school. You've been going here for two years." Courtney announced as we pulled into the school's parking lot. "Nobody _knows_ yet."

I sighed, too nervous to talk.

"Hey look...there's Zooey! Let's go say hi to her. Will that make you feel better?"

I rolled my eyes. "Remember how she reacted yesterday? I think she's the _last _person that I want to talk to."

"Oh don't be so ridiculous, Bridgette. After you told her the news everything went on like normal!"

"Yeah but she completely avoided the topic! It's like she's embarrassed of me but didn't want to say it!"

Courtney exhaled. In the back of my mind I felt guilty for yelling at her, but she was making me so unexplainably angry.

"Come on, Bridge. Please. You can do this."

"Okay. Fine."

I hopped out of the car, tears threatening to fill my eyes. Seeing everybody smiling so carefree, talking about their amazing summers made me feel awful.

I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Bridge?"

I turned around and noticed Zooey twirling a strand of her cherry-red hair awkwardly and looking down.

"Yeah?"

She sighed and looked up. "I just wanted to say...well...do you remember what happened to Samantha McGee last year?"

Well that was random.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

"How she was, well, in a _similar _situation to yours. All of her friends got really embarrassed, and they...they just ditched her like that. Everyone made fun of her and called her a slut and she had absolutely nobody to turn to..."

"Gee, thanks for that Zooey." I replied sarcastically.

Zooey blushed. "No! What I meant was, well..." She put her hand on my shoulder. "I know this is going to be hard...hell, it probably already is really hard, and, well, I don't want you to be like Samantha. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday. I'm here for you, I promise. Even when everyone finds out and turns on you, I'll still be here, rooting for you."

I giggled a little. "You could've been a little less cheesy...but thank you, Zooey. Really. That means a lot to me right now." I pulled her into a hug.

She leaned closer. "I never really got to ask you about details..."

I gave her a friendly shove. "Please tell me you're not asking about the sex. It sucked."

Zooey widened her eyes and laughed. "No, that's not what I meant! I meant like...baby details. And how did Geoff react? You _did_ tell him, right?"

"I don't know much about the baby. I'm eight weeks along. I do have an ultrasound tomorrow after school though if you want to come along. And..." I froze up. Thinking of Geoff made my stomach churn.

"And?"

"Yeah...I told Geoff." My voice was barely more audible than a whisper. "He...well...I don't think he took it so well. To be honest, I don't even know _how _he took it."

"What do you mean?"

"He said he would call me back to talk about it...almost a week ago. But I don't know if he will. He lives too far away...I don't know how we would make it work."

"Aw Bridge! I'm sure things will work out!"

I was about to cry again.

"How are things going to work out, Zooey? I'm sixteen and the father of my baby lives almost four hours away! I have no job and no money and my family abandoned me. I'm not ready to raise a child!"

Zooey paused in thought.

"Well...there's always adoption?"

"I've been debating it...I don't know...a part of me keeps saying to keep it; it's my fault I'm in this position, I need to suffer the consequences. But I want a good life for the child. I was going to ask for Geoff's opinion, but...well, it's obvious I can't really count on him to pull through."

Zooey was speechless.

"I'm sorry for throwing all of that on you...it's just been tough. Not just with all of the emotions, but physically too. I get cravings for random foods, annoying mood swings every five minutes, and I puke so much that I forgot what it was like to not have to taste throw up in your mouth constantly."

Zooey pulled me into a longer hug. "I promise you, Bridgey-widgey, everything _will _be okay. You have me and Courtney no matter what. We're going to help you every step of the way. Even when things get _really_ hard, you're not going to have to do this alone."

I smiled weakly, not needing words to express my gratitude.

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"No way...is that you, Bridgette?" I heard an oddly familiar voice from behind me as I sat down in my first period class. I turned around to see where the voice was coming from and noticed a very familiar pair of bright green eyes...

"Trent?"

It was him, all right. I didn't know he lived nearby, much less went to my school. Weird.

"So you _are _Bridgette...thank god! That would've been awkward."

I gave him a sort of petty, friendly hug and grinned. "It's nice to see you! Although I'm really surprised; I had no idea you went to this school!"

"We just moved here last month. Today's my first day. Well, it's _everyone's _first day but, it's my first day here _ever_. I didn't think I'd run into someone from Total Drama, though! I thought the odds were too great. I'm a little glad though, at least I know someone now!" Trent stopped suddenly and his face turned red. "Er, sorry for rambling. I guess I'm just really nervous."

I snickered. "Aw no need to be nervous! And you want to know something? Courtney goes here too." I smiled. "You've already got yourself a nice little friend group!"

"Really?" Trent looked surprised. "I had no idea! I feel _so _much better now, though! Although Duncan would probably kill me if he knew I was going to the same school as his girlfriend."

I shook my head. "I wouldn't think so. They broke up three days after they left the resort. Courtney found out about his drug issues...that's why he'd been in jail."

Trent snorted. "Well good."

"Speaking of relationships, how are you and Gwen doing?" I asked in attempt to spark conversation.

Trent scratched his head. "Oh we're doing all right I guess. It's a little hard because we're really far apart from each other. But we make do. I call her almost every day and we keep in touch. I really miss her, though..."

For a split second I was almost jealous of Gwen. Geoff hadn't exactly been so eager to keep in touch with _me_...

"What about you and Geoff? You guys were going pretty strong before the end of the season. How are you guys doing?"

_Oh just fine. I'm eight weeks pregnant with our kid and he hasn't bothered to call me in almost a week. Things are just _great.

"We're okay I guess," I lied.

xxxxxxxxxx

I spent most of my day ignoring my other friends. Well, actually, besides the Trent incident, I pretty much tried to refrain from talking as little as possible. I didn't want more people to know who I was when my News leaked across school.

At lunch, I just sat with Courtney and Zooey. I figured Trent would sit with us too but he was taking a while to get to the cafeteria. Lost, I guess.

"No way...Trent goes here?" Zooey squealed when I told her. "Oh my god...he was my favorite! Oh my god...I'm going to meet him! I'm going to meet him, right? So I can like...OH MY GOD I'm going to be friends with Trent from Total Drama! Ahhh he's so dreamy...you think _something_ would happen between us?"

I snorted. "He's got a girlfriend, smart one."

Zooey jokingly smirked. "So?"

"But really guys, can we try to refrain from telling him about...well, you know. I want to avoid it as much as humanly possible," I inquired.

Courtney shrugged. "We're his only friends, Bridgette. If he hangs around us enough he's going to find out eventually."

Before anybody else could speak, Trent sat down with us, much to Zooey's delight.

Eating lunch was harder than eating breakfast. I think the worst part was having to further suppress the need to puke. I took really small bites so as to not overly upset my poor stomach.

Trent didn't seem to notice anything, though. Typical teenage boy.

xxxxxxxxxx

And then, it happened. I was almost too dazed to believe it.

But there it was, clear as day. Geoff calling.

I nervously picked up the phone, hesitating to flip it open, afraid of what might come next. But I knew I couldn't keep him waiting. What if he decided to give up after one phone call and never call back again?

"H-h-h-hello?" I managed to spit out.

"Bridgette! Thank god! Please, just let me talk, you don't have to say anything, I just, I really need to talk to you. I have a lot that I really want to say."

"Okay?"

"I'm going to be honest. When you first told me about _the news_, I was scared. I was going to make a run for it. I wasn't ready to be a father. I didn't want to have to have that kind of involvement. And I just let my mind forget it. But my subconscious was getting to me. It's just; that child is mine whether I want it to be or not and even if I run away, my name is in there somehow. I didn't want to live with the guilt of knowing I abandoned my kid. Because that's my kid, Bridgette. That's my child. And I love that child. And I want to do this. I want to be a parent. Sure it's a little early, but what if this is our only chance? I love you Bridgette, and it's going to be hard, but I want to try. Please, let's try. Let's do this together."

I bit my lip. "Having a child is lifelong. It's not something we can just 'try'. You know that right?"

"Bridgette please! I really want to do this. I know it sounds crazy and spontaneous. I promise I've thought it out."

Was I really supposed to decide right this very second?

"I'm working; I'll start saving some money for the baby. We can start planning living arrangements. We'll do whatever it takes. Please Bridgette!"

In all honesty, I felt a little uncomfortable at his urgency. I was hoping we could spend a long time talking this out. At least an hour or two. Not five minutes. However, I felt like I had no choice but to go along with it. After all, it was either this, or go at it alone.

"O-okay. If you promise you're really going to do this. This is a huge deal, Geoff."

"I'm more sure than anything I've ever done."

"Let's continue this later," I muttered, clicking the 'end' button without saying good-bye.

I honestly didn't know if I was supposed to feel happy, or terrified. I was definitely leaning towards the second one, though.

xxxxxxxxxx

The doctor came into my room smiling, holding my ultrasound picture in her hand.

"Bridgette...we've got a big surprise for you!"

She handed me the picture.

And then, I saw it.

And I nearly fainted.

Just when I thought things were awful, things had suddenly gotten _a lot _worse.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I know. This is WAY overdue. I'm so sorry! Life had gotten totally crazy and I just completely lost the will to write. In fact, this is really the only story I actually feel like writing. I think I'll keep the 6teen series going but I might delete the other incomplete stories, unless someone else wants to take them and continue the stories themselves. Which I'm totally okay with, credit given to me or not. **

**But anyways, I've got my writing mojo back and updates should come faster. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**

**P.S. Sorry for the melodramatic feel. I think I've been watching too much Torchwood.**

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"Twins?" I muttered quietly. It sounded more like a statement than a question.

The doctor beamed and nodded her head.

Was this supposed to be good news?

"Do you see the two little heads?" the doctor asked as she pointed her neatly manicured fingers on each head. "They almost look like they're hugging each other! How cute!"

"Right. Cute."

Courtney stood up from the chair she was sitting in to get a peek at the picture. She looked ten times more shocked than I did. Though on the inside I was probably far more shocked than she was. I just...couldn't believe it.

"I'm...I'm having twins." I stated, trying to get it through my head. "But...no, this can't be happening."

Courtney turned to the doctor. "Could you excuse us for a moment? I think I need to talk to Bridgette alone."

The doctor nodded and quietly left the room.

I ran my fingers through my hair and then sighed, throwing my body down onto the bed.

"Courtney please tell me I'm imagining this," I muttered.

Courtney sat on the corner of the bed. "Bridgette I'm so sorry. I really mean that."

I leaned my upper body up against the wall. "That's the thing Courtney. It's not supposed to be something people are _sorry_ about. It's supposed to be good news. I feel selfish for being disappointed."

Courtney ran her hand across my leg. "You aren't selfish. You're trying to do what's best for the baby. This just...made it a little more difficult. And you have a right to be concerned."

I snorted. "That's not exactly what's going through my mind."

"I know. I was just trying to make it sound better."

My voice weakened. "Courtney...what am I going to do? I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do with one...how am I going to handle two? And...oh god, how do I tell Geoff?"

"Bridgette it's going to be okay. We can do this."

I let out a loud groan. "This is just great. Absolutely great."

The doctor knocked on the door. "Can I come back in girls?"

Courtney stood up off the bed and opened the door. The doctor nodded as she walked back in.

"Bridgette I'm going to have to discuss some dietary changes and general precautions you're going to have to take now that we are aware you're having twins. I've got a few informational brochures you'll be able to take home and read over."

The doctor kept going on and on; everything from having to eat additional calories to additional vitamins and some general twin expectations...blah blah blah. After awhile I just tuned her out. The word 'twin' kept repeating in my head over and over and over. How the _hell_ was I supposed to take care of two kids? I didn't have a job, and the father didn't even live near me. Sure, Courtney would be helpful for the first few months or even years, but that wasn't going to last forever. Somehow I'd have to figure out how to make it all by myself. And would Geoff be with me to the end? I kept imagining myself as a single mother with two kids living in some cramped apartment, barely making it by. It was sickening.

"Well it was good to see you Bridgette. I'll see you again in a few weeks." The doctor shook my hand and I nodded wordlessly.

I stood up and my knees started to buckle. I guess the news had made me a little dizzy.

Courtney wrapped her arm around my shoulders. "Need help?"

I nodded. I was fighting tears.

I thought for a while that I could handle a baby. But handling _two_? That was a different story.

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Courtney and I came home to Trent and Zooey, Trent wide-eyed and blinking rapidly.

"Uh, hi?" I turned my head to Courtney, silently asking why they were there. She shrugged.

"Bridgette...gosh...I had no idea..."

I smacked my forehead. "Zooey...did you tell him?"

Zooey stood up. "Bridge I'm so sorry! It just sort of slipped during conversation. I-I totally did not mean to...really...I'm sorry!"

"What are you guys even doing here, anyways?" Courtney asked. I hid my face in shame.

"We had some makeup work to give you guys." Trent wouldn't look either of us in the face. "When you said doctor's appointment, I didn't think..."

"Trent, I..." I started sobbing. "It was just a one time thing...and it ended badly. _Really_ badly. Please, please don't judge me. Everyone else is going to once they find out, so _please_ don't be one of them. You can not talk to me and keep your distance but just don't judge me."

I collapsed to the floor. I knew deep down I was overreacting. I guess it was the hormones...or the fact that I had just found out I'm having twins.

"I'm just a no good filthy slut!" I screamed, my face still buried. "A no good filthy slut who gets pregnant with twins and expects people to pity her."

"Twins?" Zooey mouthed. Courtney nodded.

Trent stood up and knelt down next to me, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Bridge...relax. It's okay. I mean it, it's okay. I'm not judging you. Really, I'm not. People make mistakes." Trent sat down and wrapped his arms around me. "And you're a good person, Bridgette. You can do this; I have faith in you. I'm with you no matter what. If people want to judge, let them. But you have my support. And Zooey and Courtney's."

Zooey and Courtney sat down near me and joined into the hug. I continued to sob.

"Twins...how am I going to handle twins?"

"We can do this, Bridge!" Zooey exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Just remember that you're not alone. We're with you no matter what happens." Courtney added in. "And Geoff is too. Everything's going to be okay. It might be a little hard but we can do this. We're a team."

Zooey giggled. "We should call ourselves the Baby Patrol."

I looked up at her and laughed. "Baby Patrol?"

Zooey nodded, her face brightening. "Totally! We can make T-shirts and everything. We're going to raise these babies as a team!"

Trent shrugged. "Hey, I'm in."

Courtney nodded. "Me too!"

I chuckled and wiped some of my tears away. "I love the enthusiasm, but these are babies we're talking. You guys wouldn't want to completely sign your lives away to babies that aren't even yours."

"Says who?" Courtney inquired. "Between the four of us- five if you count Geoff- I think we'll be just fine."

I took a deep breath and smiled weakly.

Zooey stood up. "You know what you need? A hot fudge sundae! _With_ sprinkles."

Courtney rolled her eyes and smiled. "I guess we're off to the kitchen. We'll be right back."

Trent rubbed down my arm as Zooey and Courtney walked away. "Can I ask you something, Bridge?"

"Sure?"

"Do you promise that I really get to help you with this? Because I really want to."

I lowered an eyebrow. "Well yeah! I don't know why you'd want to so badly, but sure!"

Trent ran his hand across his hair. "I just...never mind, it's a long story."

"Trent you're being weird. What is it?"

Zooey and Courtney called us into the kitchen before he could explain. Four huge sundaes were sitting on the table.

"Let's dig in!" Zooey exclaimed excitedly.

We all took seats around the table and simultaneously took huge spoonfuls.

"So...about that makeup work?" I giggled as I dug around the sundae with my spoon.

"It's in my bag," Trent answered. "Though I guess it seems a little unimportant compared to all of this."

"How are you going to prepare yourself, anyways?" Zooey asked with her mouth full. "I mean, did you ever come up with a plan in case this happened?"

I snorted. "Hell, I didn't even have much of a plan for having _one_ kid."

"The doctor gave you some brochures you know." Courtney pointed at me with her spoon. "I'm sure you weren't paying attention to a single thing she was saying so you should probably read them."

"I mean like, money. And living arrangements. Are you and Geoff going to live together? Are you going to start college funds? And who's going to watch the babies while you're at school?"

I hit my head against the table and groaned.

Courtney sighed. "This probably isn't the best timing, Zooey."

"No, she's got a point," I muttered. "I can't just wait around and hope that everything's going to fall into place. But I have no idea at the moment. I don't have a job and I only have a little money saved up, but that's been going towards gas and my phone. Geoff says he's going to start saving money, but I don't know what we'll do in terms of living arrangements. I really don't want to have to leave you guys to go live with him but I don't technically have a home here."

Courtney dropped her spoon on the table. "Well the first thing you should do is cancel your phone service and start using the home phone. And stop using your car; only use it for emergencies. I'll give you rides to places. You're going to want to save as much money as you can. And you should start looking for jobs ASAP to help you out."

"Assuming there's a place around here that's willing to hire a pregnant teen." I chimed in sarcastically.

"Legally they can't judge you on the basis of pregnancy," Trent pointed out.

"And you really need to talk to Geoff," Courtney continued. "As in, have him come visit over a weekend and discuss things in person. The phone just isn't good enough."

I sighed. "Speaking of Geoff...I have to tell him I'm having twins...oh god."

"I'd call him soon!" Zooey exclaimed.

"I'll do it tonight. But guys...wish me luck."

xxxxxxxxxx

_Ring. Ring. Ring. Jesus Geoff answer your phone! _

"Hello?"

"Geoff..." I so badly wanted to jump right into things and yet not say a word at the same time.

"Hey babe! I was actually going to call you tomorrow! How are things going? What's the doctor been saying?"

"Geoff... there's something I have to tell you. Don't freak out."

I heard a snort on the other end. "How could it possibly make me freak out anymore than this pregnancy thing? It's not like you're going to tell me someone else is the father or anything..." There was a pause. "...right?"

"No! Unfortunately and fortunately, it's yours Geoff. Actually...more like they." I took a deep breath. "We're having twins, Geoff."

Silence.

"Well...I think I would've liked the 'different father' news..."

"Geoff!"

"I'm joking! So...we're having twins...well shit."

"Yeah. _Well shit._"

"Let's not freak out...we were already preparing for one. We just have to prepare for one more is all...right?"

"Preparing? How are we preparing? We haven't done anything yet!"

"I told you I was saving money! And I'm going to be telling my parents this weekend. They'll be sure to give me some advice on living arrangements and such."

I went silent with anger. In fact, I could feel the anger sort of exploding throughout my whole body.

"You. Haven't. Told. Your. Parents." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Well...I haven't gotten around to it...they're really busy and..."

"GEOFF!"

"Baby I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm sorry! I'll tell them this weekend, like I said! I was going to have a big, long chat with them."

"You know Geoff..." I trailed off. I took a deep breath. "Courtney suggested that we talk about things in person, that you come visit over the weekend. I'm thinking that all three of you should. We can all talk about this. What do you think?"

"I don't know Bridge...that's a bit much..."

"This is a BABY. Well, two babies. Geoff, this is serious."

Geoff sighed. "Fine. I'll talk to my parents about it and call you back tomorrow."

"Thank you."

"But don't worry so much, babe! Everything's going to be okay. And remember: I love you."

I smiled. "I love you too."

_Click._

I threw the phone down on the bed and sighed. This was just a disaster waiting to happen.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks for all the support guys. I love y'all so much (: I'm starting to consider making a serious career out of writing. I'd love to do screenplays. What do you guys think?**

**Oh, and the two stories I mentioned last chapter are still up for grabs. Anybody have any interest in continuing them?**

**I guess the best question is: does anybody read these author's notes?**

**Enjoy!**

**xxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Guess what, babe? My parents are down for coming to see you guys this weekend. I'm just going to need Courtney's address."

I exhaled. It was Thursday night and he _finally _decides to call me with the news. Go figure.

"I'll text it to you tomorrow. Did you tell them _the news_? How did they react?"

"What? I thought we were going to tell them when I was there in person!"

"Well Geoff, don't you think they're going to find it a little suspicious that they're randomly coming to visit me...at _Courtney's_ house?"

"I...don't know."

I ran my hand across my face.

"Well can you at least guess their reaction? I mean is it going to be violent? How understanding will they be?"

"Babe I don't know! Why do you have to have a 'plan' for everything? Whatever happens, happens. It's all good."

I really couldn't believe him sometimes.

"I've got to go, Geoff. You better get your shit together before this weekend." I hung up before he could reply.

I jumped face-first onto my bed and groaned. Courtney knocked on the door soon after.

"Hey Bridge...mind if I come in?"

"Sure," I muttered into my pillow.

Courtney stepped inside, gently closing the door with a warm smile on her face. "Hey...did you just talk to Geoff? What's going on?"

I groaned again.

"I'm guessing things didn't go so well?"

I turned onto my back and rested my hands on my stomach. "He's coming over this weekend. He's acting so chill about everything. He actually had the nerve to tell me that 'whatever happens, happens'. It's like he doesn't even realize how serious this is!"

Courtney sat on the corner of the bed. "You know, there is that saying... the father isn't the father until he holds his baby. Maybe he'll shape up at that point."

I sat up. "I can't exactly _wait _until the babies come. We have to be ready before then."

Courtney sighed. "I don't know what to tell you. I can't control him. You just have to remember that we're here for you even if he isn't."

I smiled. "Thanks."

"But anyways, I came in to remind you to cancel your cell service soon." Courtney handed me a little shop bag. "I got you an address book so you could write your contacts down."

I took the address book out of the bag and giggled. "This is _so _old school!"

Courtney smiled and shrugged. "Hey, better than nothing, right?"

I took a deep breath and rubbed my thumb over the smooth black cover. "Thank you, Courtney."

"The Baby Petrol is coming over for a movie night in tomorrow night to help you relax, if it makes you feel any better."

I burst out laughing. "You guys are seriously calling yourselves that now?"

"Well Zooey insists."

"Movie night sounds...great. I'd love to eat something other than vegetables and vitamins! We..._do _get to eat like popcorn and candy and stuff right?"

Courtney rolled her eyes and smiled. "Sure thing. But don't get into the habit!"

"I won't! Relax!"

xxxxxxxxxx

School the next day seemed to drag on for what felt like forever. My classes were boring, and rumor was beginning to go around of my pregnancy status. I don't know _how _people knew, considering I wasn't showing and it was very unlikely that my friends had gone telling others (well, maybe not unlikely for Zooey). It hadn't gotten quite as bad as I was expecting. Most people who were curious just asked me in a nice manner, rather than harassing me. And I actually told them the truth, believe it or not.

Zooey and Trent came over right after school as planned and I began to feel a little relaxed, for once.

"So what movie do you guys want to watch?" Courtney asked. "I figure I'll just run down to the movie rental store so pick anything you guys want!"

I threw my head back onto the couch and laughed. "Courtney, you are going to so old school this week. First the address book and now the movie rental place?"

"How about Brokeback Mountain?" Zooey asked.

We all stared at her quizzically.

"Isn't that the gay cowboy movie?" Trent pointed out.

Zooey shrugged and smiled. "Jake Gyllenhaal is really hot!"

"I know but he's not so hot when he's having sex with another guy is he?" Trent started laughing.

"Jake Gyllenhaal having sex with _anything _is hot!" Zooey beamed.

"I've seen the movie...it's not hot, he catches." Courtney chimed in.

Zooey crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Oh come on guys, let's watch it. It's not like we had any other ideas anyways," I finally butted in.

Courtney stood up and grabbed her keys off the table. "Okay, fine. I'll be right back. I'll probably stop into the store to grab us some goodies. Is everyone okay with a bag of popcorn and a bag of mixed chocolates?"

Zooey hopped up enthusiastically. "Can I come with? Pleaseeeee?"

Courtney lowered an eyebrow. "Uh...why?"

"Just trust me, okay! Please?"

"Okay...Zooey and I will be back."

Trent and I nodded simultaneously as Courtney and Zooey made their way out the door. Once they were gone, I turned to Trent and smiled.

"Have fun watching Brokeback Mountain," I teased. "I know you wanted to spend your Saturday night watching two men going at it."

Trent rolled his eyes. "Oh whatever."

I giggled slightly. "This is really...amazing of you. You're really giving up a social life to hang out with a pregnant girl and her two crazy friends. Most guys wouldn't do that. Hell, even Geoff is a total flake and he's the father!"

Trent's eyes flickered, and his face took on a more serious tone to it. It almost sent shivers down my spine.

"I really want to do this, Bridgette. This means a lot to me."

I cocked my head. "Why does this mean so much to you, anyways?"

Trent started fiddling his thumbs nervously. He turned his head away and looked out the window. "Things have happened over the years. After awhile you start to tell yourself you need to take every opportunity you get because you might regret it. You might _really _regret it."

"Trent you don't have to go all deep thinker on me! What happened? You can trust me."

Trent turned his head back towards me. He looked as if he was blinking back tears. He placed his hand on my stomach and began to rub up and down. His eyes locked with mine.

"It's not important. It's in the past. What matters is that I'm here and that I'm helping you right now. Right?"

In all honestly, I felt _really _awkward. Trent had killed the lighthearted mood and turned the situation into a scene from some romantic drama. I didn't have the nerve to move his hand, though.

Before I could say anything more, Zooey barged into the room. Trent tensed up, moving his hand with him.

"I forgot my wallet. Silly me!" Zooey exclaimed. Trent and I both nervously laughed.

"Okay, we'll be back in a few minutes. For real this time!" Zooey left once again, and Trent and I went along as if nothing had happened.

xxxxxxxxxx

Movie night turned out nicely. By the time we were a few minutes into the movie I had forgotten everything I was so stressed about. We poked fun of just about everything (except the really emotional scenes) and gawked at all of the shirtless scenes (except Trent, who covered his eyes).

But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Saturday morning hit me hard. I felt queasy the entire time; not the normal pregnancy-induced queasiness, but real nerves. I had no idea how his parents were going to react, or where this conversation was going to lead us. I was afraid that I'd hit a breaking point and Geoff would leave me altogether.

I heard the doorbell ring. And instantly the queasiness went away and was replaced with just downright fear. My whole body froze up. I could feel the color draining from my skin.

Ms. Gibbs sneaked up behind me and put her hand on my shoulder. "Do you want me to get the door sweetheart?"

I nodded wordlessly.

The door opened and I instantly spotted Geoff. I could tell right off the bat that he was just as nervous as I was. His clothes were a little nicer than usual; however, he was wearing his trademark cowboy hat, which offset the look a little.

"Bridge..." Geoff trailed off. We embraced into an awkward hug.

"Geoff...it's nice to see you," I muttered dryly.

Geoff's parents jetted in, cutting off our half-hearted embrace.

"It's nice to see you Bridgette." The words sounded cruel and unwelcoming. I gulped back the urge to puke.

"Mr. and Mrs. Rupert...nice to see you too." I shook both of their hands.

Mrs. Rupert's eyes were like stones. "Let's have a seat in the living room? Or where you would like to have us, Ms. Gibbs?"

"No, no, the living room is just fine!" Ms. Gibbs led the four of us into the same room where we had been watching Brokeback Mountain the night before. It still smelled of popcorn and melted chocolate. Oops.

Ms. Gibbs began to speak first. "Mr. and Mrs. Rupert, your son and Bridgette had something they wanted to talk with you about..."

Mrs. Rupert interjected, nearly cutting off Ms. Gibbs. "Listen, guys. We weren't born yesterday. We know what's going on."

My face turned purple. Then white. I couldn't even speak.

"Y-you do?" Geoff replied.

Mr. Rupert ran his hand over his head. "You've brought us all the way down here to visit your girlfriend who is currently living with someone else." His eyes narrowed. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"

My throat felt like it was closing. I felt intimidated. I couldn't say a word.

"AREN'T YOU?" He screamed.

At that point I burst into tears. The nerves had gotten me. Geoff wrapped his arm around me, whispering sweet nonsense to try to calm me down.

Ms. Gibbs hit her hands onto her knees. "Look, Mr. Rupert, it would be nice if we could keep this civil, please."

Mr. Rupert sighed. "Okay, fair enough."

"I'm so sorry..." I whispered. "I really...I'm so so sorry."

Geoff pulled me closer. "No. This is my fault too."

Mr. Rupert rolled his eyes. "It's both you guys' fault! Geoff why didn't you use protection? Why did you guys do it in the first place? Did you not stop and think of the consequences?"

Mrs. Rupert grabbed Mr. Rupert's hand. "There's nothing we can do about it now, honey. Let's try to be rational about the situation." She turned back towards the rest of us. "What plans have you made for the baby so far?"

I sighed. "Babies."

Mrs. Rupert cocked her head. "What?"

"Babies. I'm...sort of kind of having twins."

"WHAT?" Mr. Rupert exploded once more. I flinched.

Mrs. Rupert exhaled. "Okay...babies. What are we doing about this?"

"Well Bridgette is free to stay here as long as she needs to. I'll be here to help her out and get her at least through the rest of high school," Ms. Gibbs chimed in. She was the only one who sounded rational at this point.

"That's great, Ms. Gibbs, but we're assuming Geoff wants involvement with the babies...how are living arrangements going to work then? We don't have enough room for three more and I'd hate to ask you take Geoff for yourself."

Mr. Rupert eyed Mrs. Rupert quizzically. "Do we really want them living together? Can we trust them? She _did _get pregnant after all."

Yeah, because I was totally willing to risk it happening again.

"Well if they're going to raise a baby like adults then we should give them the freedom to _act _like adults. Besides, I think they learned a lesson."

"Look, how about we figure out living arrangements later? Right now we need to be coming up with a plan. We have lots of things we need to go over and I don't want to waste any time."

And so began the hours and hours of pain.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Wow, after like two years I'm finally updating this story. I told myself I was too old for fanfiction and that I would finally retire from writing. I think I was wrong. **

**This is my favorite story that I've written, hands down. It's also my most popular, so I guess I'll give it a chance.**

**I noticed that my character Zooey was strikingly similar to Zoey in TDROTI. I actually wrote this story about a year before TDROTI even premiered. So yes, it was a strange coincidence (I think). You're free to imagine her as Zoey from TDROTI if you want, though.**

**Enjoy?**

**xxxxxx**

_**THIS DOCUMENT OUTLINES NECESSARY RULES, PROCEDURES, AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE TWINS IN WHICH BRIDGETTE WILL BIRTH UNDER GEOFF'S FATHERSHIP**_

_Geoff is to visit twice a month for an entire weekend at the Gibbs' household._

_During said weekend, Geoff and Bridgette will not be allowed any interference from Ms. Gibbs, Courtney, Zooey, Trent, or any other outside help. They will use this time to adequately practice and plan for said children._

_During said weekend, Bridgette and Geoff will attend the Expectant Parents seminars held at the community center. Cost will be reimbursed by Ruperts._

_Receipts for all baby costs, including doctor's appointments, prenatal vitamins, and supplies needed before the birth are to be mailed to the Rupert household. Bridgette will be reimbursed with one-half the total of each receipt. _

_Geoff and Bridgette are both expected to retain part-time jobs during pregnancy and after childbirth._

_Each are only allowed to use 10% of each paycheck for personal expenses._

_Geoff is to permanently move into the Gibbs household after the school year ends. Geoff and Bridgette will pay a monthly rent of $350 per month, plus an additional $50 per month for food. _

_Because Ms. Gibbs is offering a low rate, Geoff and Bridgette are expected to fully cover baby expenses._

_The twins are to visit Grandma and Grandpa at least once a month._

_Bridgette must make at least three attempts during pregnancy to get in touch with her parents. After third failed attempt, no further contact attempts should be made. _

_If Courtney, Trent, Zooey, or another friend offer to babysit, you must pay them at a rate in which a normal babysitter would be paid._

_Rules may be adjusted to improve the lives of the twins, depending on the situation that arises._

_Signed,_

Courtney sighed and set her pen in her lap. "Okay, now everybody sign."

I looked at the clock. It was already 6PM. We had literally been sitting here for four hours, disputing over which rules we would follow and how to best take care of the babies. I never realized how good at…erm, _arguing _Geoff's parents were. Almost as bad as Courtney and Ms. Gibbs. Overall, it was a brutal fight. Ms. Gibbs didn't want us to pay rent. Courtney wanted more involvement. Ms. Rupert wanted us to rent an apartment halfway, rather than Geoff living here at Ms. Gibbs' house. Mr. Rupert was more keen on just having Geoff pay Child Support until he graduated high school.

Courtney passed the contract over to me. I reread over the rules we had set aside. Some of them sounded a little scary. Rent every month? Only 10% of my paycheck goes to me?

I had to hand it to Courtney though. The contact looked very professional. She could give a lawyer a run for his money.

I signed and passed the contact to Geoff, who looked equally as worried as I did.

Ms. Rupert looked pleased as she signed the contact last. In fact, I think she was the only one smiling through all of this. I didn't blame her though. Most of what ended up on the contract _was _her idea.

Ms. Rupert stood, with Mr. Rupert and Geoff following soon after. Ms. Rupert smoothed her skirt and smiled, in a somewhat sickening sort of grin.

"I'm really glad we took the time to discuss this. I hope everybody is clear about what is expected during these next few months of pregnancy and hereafter? Courtney, I would much appreciate if you could email me a scanned copy of the contract, and make sure you make several other copies as well. I don't want there to be any sort of _dispute _over what should be done in any given situations in the future. Bridgette, it was very nice to meet you and Geoff looks forward to seeing you soon."

Mr. Rupert was less willing to give me any sort of goodbye. He just sort of grunted and practically dashed for the door.

I stood up and smiled awkwardly at Geoff. "I'll see you in a couple of weeks!"

"Yeah. See you then, babe." He gave me a quick hug and quickly joined his father at the door.

Ms. Gibbs led Ms. Rupert to the door. "I'm really glad you three took time out of your lives for the opportunity to discuss this with us," Ms. Gibbs mused. "We look forward to seeing Geoff in a couple of weeks!"

And with that, the three of them were gone. _Finally. _

Courtney practically gawked at the door. "Wow. They're…kind of crazy detail-oriented."

I exhaled, slightly giggling. "That means a lot coming from one of the most detail-oriented people I know. "

I was supposed to feel better after all of this. But I felt a lot worse. The idea of responsibility suddenly became concrete. Everything that was expected of me was actually out on paper. And boy, was it a _lot. _

"I know that was a lot for you to take in. So we're having a sleepover! The rest of the Baby Patrol should be here in about thirty minutes."

"What? But we had a popcorn, chocolate, and movie night last night!"

"Yes, Bridge, but this is part _two! _ It's a sleepover this time! We get to play fun games and stay up late and chit chat for _far _longer than last night."

"Even Trent?"

"Well, Mom figured that you couldn't get pregnant again and that Zooey and I had learned our lesson."

I smiled. A sleepover sounded too good to be true.

"Plus," Courtney pulled out a contract similar to the one we had used earlier. "Mom and I made Trent sign a contract stating he would not make or accept any sexual advances, and would change and sleep in your bedroom, while Zooey, you and I sleep in my room."

We both looked to the contract for several seconds, then collapsed in a fit of laughter.

xxxxx

Before long, the four of us were in our pajamas, sprawled out on the floor in Courtney's room. The junk food available made last night look pathetic: popcorn, chips, chocolate bars, gummy bears, marshmallows (ha…), soda, energy drinks, and random boxes of movie theater candy. We had started a game of Truth or Dare, per Zooey's request. She probably expected someone to dare her to kiss Trent.

Zooey giggled and clapped her hands together. "Okay, Bridgette. Truth or dare?"

I shrugged. "Truth. Let's start out easy."

Zooey rolled her eyes. "Fine. If you're starting easy then so will I. Tell me about the craziest thing you had to do in Total Drama."

I gawked. "Did you not _watch _the show? Chris was a total mad man!

"Bridge, I don't think the producers are going to find out if you break the confidentiality agreement over Zooey," Courtney pointed out.

"Well, okay. A lot of the challenges were kind of faked. Stunt doubles, editing, and so on. They really wanted to bank on the relationships we formed _outside _of the challenges. The shots outside the challenges were the most realistic."

"Dude," Trent chimed in. "They _made _me leave Gwen buried in the sand!"

"Not all of it was staged!" Courtney shouted as she tossed a handful of popcorn in her mouth. "Harold actually _did _switch the votes to get me kicked out!"

"You said you were glad because otherwise your relationship with Duncan would have gone too far! And you _loved _Playas Des Losers!" I replied, throwing another handful of popcorn at her.

Zooey folded her arms. "I'm so jealous of you guys. I wish I could have competed on international television like that!"

"You mean embarrassed yourself. Really, you didn't miss much. The fifteen minutes of fame ended _long _ago." I grabbed a bite of chocolate. "Let's move on. Courtney, truth or dare?"

"Dare! I'll be the brave one!"

I grinned devilishly, remembering a dare Heather had made me do during a game similar to this in the girls' cabin. "Get a pair of your dirty underwear and hold it to your nose for a full minute!"

Zooey and Trent exploded into laughter. Courtney started coughing, her eyes widening.

"Aw Bridge, you're disgusting!"

xxxxx

As the night wore on, the dares had pretty much turned into all truths. It started to get pretty intense, too. I was learning so much about all three of them that I had never even known before. Even Zooey.

"Okay, Trent," Zooey practically squealed. "Tell me: how far have you gone with Gwen? Or any girl at all?"

Trent blushed. Well, blushed is putting it nicely. He turned into a total tomato. "Well, Gwen's the only girl I've been with, first of all."

"Come on Trent! Just answer the question!" Courtney urged.

"Fine! Yeah, we've done it!"

Zooey frowned slightly.

"Done _what?" _ Courtney was pretty harsh.

"We've had sex. Actually, we've had a _lot _of sex. She has the craziest sex drive I've ever seen in my life! We actually started doing it before we were even dating. We would sneak out to the communal bathrooms late at night and meet each other for quickies. I didn't even want to half the time. I just wanted to be able to win her over. It worked, I guess. But honestly, sometimes I think that's all she cares about. Every time I've gone to visit we end up spending most of the weekend in her bed. She's a great girl, really. I just wish we could spend less time screwing around. All of my buddies from my old hometown think I'm crazy for wanting more. But whatever!"

The room went silent. I was pretty sure Zooey and Courtney weren't expecting such detail from Trent. I sure as hell know I wasn't. I guess it was getting late.

"I, uh, said too much, didn't I?"

Courtney smiled. "We're all friends here. If it's something that's troubling you, don't be afraid to get it off your chest!"

Zooey's face fell. "Man, I feel so virginal. I've only kissed a guy. And that was once in the seventh grade!"

"It's okay, Zooey. The farthest I've ever gone is making out…and that was with _Duncan_," Courtney replied as she brought Zooey into a goofy hug.

I started to feel a little awkward. Did they really have to talk about sex in front of a pregnant teenager? I felt even more ashamed for having had sex in the first place. And how could Trent do it _regularly? _I hated doing it once!

I think Trent sensed my discomfort, because he was quick to change the subject. "Zooey, tell me about your most embarrassing moment!"

Zooey sighed. "Well, as _uncomfortable _as this is…I once tripped and fell in front of my crush!"

I practically spat out the soda I'd had in my mouth.

"What?! I think you're neglecting to tell them about the time you shat your pants at _said_ crush's pool party!"

"Bridgette!"

Courtney burst out laughing. "Oh, do tell!"

I knew it was mean, but I felt compelled to seek some sort of revenge for the aforementioned sore subject.

"You know Jason Summers? Well, Zooey had a _huge _crush on him back in grade 8. Like, massively massive. Anyways, he had this big end-of-the-school-year pool party the weekend after school was out."

"Bridgette I'm so going to kill you for this!"

"So at the party, they served burgers. However, they forgot to mention that they were _turkey _burgers, which upset Zooey's stomach big time. She tried really hard to hold it in because…well, it's kind of embarrassing to go number two at your crush's house. But her bowels exploded without warning. While she was IN the pool. There was a floater, too."

"Bridgette I am going to kill you in your sleep!" Zooey giggled as she threw a handful of gummy bears at me.

"Hey now. You guys just watched me sniff my own underwear. Pretty sure that's ten times worse!" Courtney interjected as the four of us burst into a laughing fit.

xxxxx

As much as we had wanted to pull an all-nighter, we ended up crashing by 3 AM. Well, Courtney and Zooey had, anyways. I was still wide awake, laying in a sort of fetal position. My mind was racing so much that I couldn't even manage to get to sleep. Although the past couple of nights had been a good distraction, I still had a _lot _to worry about. Plus, I kept feeling like I was forgetting something.

Oh yeah. I was supposed to take a set of pills before I went to sleep. The important ones that I always come so close to forgetting to take. Yeah, those. Truth be told, I didn't even know what they were for, but I was too afraid not to take them.

I stood up and slowly fumbled my way to the door.

I tiptoed down the hallway carefully. I didn't want to wake anybody up, especially Trent. I felt kind of bad that I had to sneak back into the room. I mean, I was technically breaking the contract.

To my surprise, Trent was laying in my bed, just as awake as I was. He was writing something into a journal underneath the lamp on the nightstand. Right next to my pills.

"Trent?"

Trent jumped up and yelped, presumably stifling a scream.

"Woah, sorry dude!" I mumbled. "I just forgot to take some pills." I hopped onto my bed and reached for the pills on the nightstand. "How come you're still up?"

Trent shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I've just got a bad bout of insomnia. Maybe too many energy drinks."

"I feel you. My sleep is all messed up ever since…well…you know."

Trent closed his journal and tossed it into his bag. "I'm sorry the topic of sex had to come up earlier. I felt _really _bad about that."

I exhaled and leaned back onto the bedpost. "It's not that big of a deal. It was Zooey, not you. Plus, I think I got sizeable revenge."

"I'd watch your back after that one. That was pretty cold!"

I felt words start to spill out, completely out of my own control. "I can't believe you and Gwen have so much sex. Honestly. I hated it. It hurt and felt really uncomfortable and not at all like what they tell you it's _supposed_ to feel like. I can't even think about it anymore. I'm so ashamed."

Trent snickered. "I'm not always so fond of it either. Not lately. I just…I want an emotional connection. I feel like I'm losing it. I want someone to talk to late at night, or share songs with, or have nice dinners with, or…just, I'm sick of sex running the whole relationship."

I grabbed a pillow from the floor and hugged onto it. "How come you stick with it, then? If you're unhappy you should move on!"

"I just…I want to think that the girl I fell in love with is still there somehow. I guess I tell myself that if I do everything she wants, get past all of this sex shenanigans, then she'll come back. She'll grow up and become a little more serious about things. About us."

"I know how you feel…trust me." I could only think of Geoff as he had rambled about Gwen. "Sometimes it's hard at our age, I guess. A lot of people don't want to be tied down. " I sighed. "Especially when there's a _baby _involved."

"Is Geoff flaking out on you or something?! I'll punch him senseless!"

"Geoff's been _okay, " _I muttered. "But how come this whole thing IS such a big deal to you? I mean, we had never been good friends until school started. I definitely don't _mind _it or anything…but I'm curious."

Trent slouched back into the bed further. "Well…my mother had me at sixteen."

My eyes widened. "Wait, really?"

"The father…erm, _my _father, I guess, ended up ditching her completely. Well, everybody did. Her friends, her parents, _everybody. _She ended up having to drop out of high school in order to find a way to take care of me…"

My heart sank. Not only did I feel bad for his mother, but I also worried about my future as well.

"S-so, what ended up happening? How did things turn out?"

Trent sighed. "My grandparents ended up getting custody of me when I was two because the situation was so bad. My mom was struggling. She still is. Don't get me wrong, my grandparents have been great to me, and I've had a good childhood. But I'll always be angry at them for just ditching my mom like that. They _still _won't help her. They just watch her struggle to get by. It sickens me sometimes."

"Sounds a hell of a lot like my parents," I snorted, rolling my eyes.

"Well…when I saw you in the situation you were in…I just…I wanted any sort of chance I could take to make sure that somebody doesn't end up in the same sort of fate as my mom. And I've really grown to care for you, Bridge. I want to see you prosper, not fail. This pregnancy shouldn't be the end of your life. And I hope you know that the three of us…we're really here for you, you know. Anything you need."

I smiled. A real, genuine smile for the first time in a while. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the pregnancy hormones, but hearing words like that made me feel a nice sense of relief.

"Thank you Trent. That really means a lot to me."


	9. Chapter 9

"COURTNEY!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Courtney quickly ran from her room to mine, panicked. She always feared that something scary would happen, being pregnant and all.

"What's the matter, Bridge? Is everything okay?"

I struggled to bring the two ends of my jeans together, but they wouldn't budge. The button wouldn't even come close to closing. I had managed to get them to fit all week, albeit being a little tight. But today it just wasn't happening.

"My jeans don't fit! Why won't my jeans fit anymore?" I continued to try and push the two ends together.

Courtney rolled her eyes and snickered. "Because you're pregnant. Duh! You're gaining some weight is all."

I sighed. "I thought you were only supposed to gain weight in your stomach. These are low rise jeans!"

After struggling for several minutes, I finally managed to squeeze into the jeans. Sure, it hurt, and dug deeply into my hips, but they fit. I would just have to wear a loose shirt to hide the muffin top.

"No, Bridgette, you're going to gain weight everywhere. I think we need to get you maternity clothes soon."

I sighed. "I'm only at eleven weeks. How much could I have possibly gained?"

I went into the closet and grabbed an oversized t-shirt that I had gotten from a surfing competition years ago. You know, one of those events where they give out XL t-shirts to everyone. It was the only one that hid my belly and muffin top well enough.

"You know what the doctor said. With a multiple pregnancy you're supposed to gain about a pound a week. Mom's been feeding you pretty well I think too."

I looked in the mirror. My stomach and face were noticeably larger, as well as the top of my arms. I looked like a balloon, not a pregnant woman.

"Courtney? Where are you Courtney? I want to say hi to my little snuggle bear!" a voice exclaimed from the hallway.

I raised my eyebrows. "Is that your dad? I thought he was supposed to be gone for a month!"

"It's _been _a month, Bridgette! Dad I'm in the guest room!" Courtney screamed.

I felt the ends of my jeans start to slowly pull apart. The pressure was really hurting my sides.

The button on the jeans finally went flying off as the jeans ripped apart, right as Mr. Gibbs entered, revealing a sizeable amount of my granny panties.

"Oi! What the hell is going on here?! Why is Bridgette camped out in the guest room?!" Mr. Gibbs screamed, practically shaking the walls.

Courtney winced, laughing nervously. "Did…Mom not tell you?"

I could only stand there silently, fighting down a nerve-induced nausea.

"Did Mom tell me what? What sort of things are you two pulling behind my back? Are we taking stowaways now?"

Ms. Gibbs came running down the hall. "Richard! Richard I can explain. Just calm down!"

The three of us stood there in petrified silence.

Ms. Gibbs entered the door frame. "Richard. Bridgette is living with us, now. We're letting her stay in Kendall's old room. She had a falling out with her parents when she told them about her pregnancy and needs a place to live while she figures things out."

"When were you going to tell me, huh? Did you plan to just leave her in here and hope that nobody would notice?"

"Richard, I did tell you. I called you the night she moved in. Don't you remember?"

"Bridgette, you should put some more decent pants on," Mr. Gibbs spat at me before shutting the door, leaving Courtney and I.

I crashed onto the bed and started crying. Maybe it was the hormones, or the fact that my pants didn't fit anymore, or Courtney's dad, or maybe all three put together, but I ended up just completely breaking down.

"I hate this stupid pregnancy! I hate these stupid twins who make me get really fat and make me embarrass myself. I don't even have a family or a home and my boyfriend, the father of these lesions in my stomach, lives four hours away! I'm just fat and useless and my life sucks and I don't know how I'm going to handle all of this!"

Courtney sat onto my bed and ran her fingers through my hair. "Bridgette. Hey. Everything's going to be okay! You have my mom and myself and my dad I'm sure, not to mention Zooey and Trent. Hey, how about you wear sweatpants today? That way you can be comfortable without caving to the maternity pants for now. I'll toast you some strawberry poptarts and then I'll help you clean up the room for Geoff today. How does that sound?"

I sat up, wiping tears from my face. "That sounds great. Except strawberry poptarts. That sounds awful."

Courtney chuckled. "That's the only breakfast food you've wanted all week…now you're changing your mind? What are you craving now?"

"Well…it's going to seem kind of ridiculous…"

xxxxx

After about an hour, we had managed to get the room looking fairly nice. It wasn't too hard, considering the room was fairly small, but it felt nice to clean up.

"I can't believe you're eating that. That is so gross!" Courtney exclaimed as she vacuumed the floor.

I dipped another pretzel into the giant tub of sour cream in my lap and tossed it into my mouth. "This is literally the best thing I've ever had in my life!"

"Yes, but you've almost eaten that whole bag of pretzels!"

The doorbell rang, which caused me to nearly fall over backwards. However, I couldn't risk spilling my precious pretzels.

"Bridgette! Geoff is here!" Ms. Gibbs screamed from downstairs.

Courtney unplugged the vacuum and wrapped the cord around it. "Looks like I officially cannot have any contact with you for the rest of the weekend! Though…let me know if you do need any help with anything. Surely the Ruperts don't have to find out about _everything!" _Courtney winked, giggling.

Geoff entered, not even bothering to knock. He shot me a goofy smile.

"Well, I'll leave you two love birds alone!" Courtney darted out of the room, slamming the door behind us and leaving us alone.

There was an awkward silence for quite a while. Probably a minute or two. Geoff glanced around the room while whistling. I kept shoveling pretzels and sour cream into my mouth, avoiding conversation.

Finally, Geoff spoke. "Wow, Bridge…you've, uh, put on a few pounds!"

"Gee, thanks Geoff!" I groaned, wrapping the pretzel bag up and shutting the sour cream container.

"Nah, man, not in like, the bad way! Woah, you can keep eating!"

I set the pretzels and sour cream onto my nightstand. "No thanks," I spat. "I guess I've had _enough." _

"Bridge I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you feel bad!"

I sighed. "I'm sorry too. My hormones are just crazy."

More awkward silence. Geoff took a seat next to me on the bed and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"How have things been? You're having another ultrasound on Monday right?"

I nodded, curling my legs into my arms.

"That's awesome dude!"

"How's your job at Best Buy going?" I asked as I rested my head against the bedframe. Sitting up without support for more than a few minutes made my back hurt.

"Oh you know, it's going okay. I've made a few buddies. One of them, Mason, throws the most _wicked _parties! Everyone's always impressed with my mad beer pong skills!"

Go figure. He was _still _goofing around, even with babies on the way.

"You've been partying?! Geoff are you serious?!" I shouted.

"Babe! Only every now and again, I swear! I've been working pretty hard. I've already saved up about six hundred bucks!"

I sighed, thinking back to a couple of weeks ago when I'd had a jam-packed "two part weekend" with my friends. I guess it was unfair to not let him have _any _fun.

"What about you, Bridge? Are you working?"

I laughed nervously. "Well, yeah…I start a new job Tuesday after school."

Geoff grinned. "Yeah? Where at?"

It was kind of an embarrassing story. I was too ashamed to apply at any retail stores, especially clothing ones, considering my, uh, _condition. _After scouting the entire mall, Courtney and I ended up finding Maternity World, a locally owned maternity clothing store located in the back corner of the mall.

It seemed like a good idea. Well, to Courtney anyways. A hefty discount on maternity clothes and items, constant interaction with other pregnant women, and a near impossibility of running into anybody from school. Best of all, they had a "now hiring" sign taped to the door. But the idea of working with a bunch of middle-aged women didn't exactly send me running to finish an application.

Courtney didn't give me a choice. She grabbed my wrist and marched me right inside to the front counter.

"Can I help you?" a middle-aged looking woman behind the counter slurred, tapping her nails against the marble surface.

"My friend here is looking for a job and was wondering if she could have an application," Courtney replied, smiling smugly.

The middle-aged woman leaned over the counter. "Are you at least eighteen?"

"No. I'm not. Looks like I can't apply here. Sorry!" I started to make my way towards the exit, but Courtney stopped me, grabbing my arm and pulling me back.

"My friend here really needs this job. And it looks like you guys really need an employee. Can I speak to your manager?" Courtney asked.

The middle-aged woman rolled her eyes and hit a button underneath the counter, buzzing the manager into the store from the back room.

A much younger woman sauntered over, smiling a big, cheesy smile as she approached the counter. "Can I help you ladies?"

"My friend here really wants to work for you guys. I know you guys want somebody who is at least eighteen, but she's nearly seventeen."

The manager knitted her eyebrows. "She wants to work _here? _Err, sorry, but you really need to be eighteen at the least."

I burst into tears, for god knows what reason. Probably a mix of stress and hormones. Those goddamn hormones!

The manager started to panic. "Sweetie! I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to be any sort of insult or judgment of your character! We just have rules. It would be uncomfortable for our shoppers to interact with teenagers rather than somebody a little more keen to their situation!"

Courtney pulled me into a hug, sighing. "Look, she's had a really rough time, okay? She's pregnant, with twins might I add, and was kicked out of her house. She's looking for any sort of means to get by because she's trying to make a good life for her future children. I know you may have your silly rule but I'm asking you once again. Not as a customer to a salesman, but as a woman to another woman. Give her a chance. I'm begging you."

The manager's face softened, her eyes widening. "How far along is she?"

Courtney ran her fingers through my hair. "Almost ten weeks."

The manager looked to the middle-aged woman and back. "I reckon we can give her a chance. We do need somebody to help with the store upkeep. Have her fill out an application real quick and we'll give you an interview on Friday, okay?"

I smiled through my tears. "Thank you so much!"

After leaving the store, Courtney burst into laughter. "Wow, Bridgette, that crying act was great!"

Yeah, "act".

After the interview, I was almost immediately handed the job. And so, as of the upcoming Tuesday, I was a Maternity World Sales Associate.

Geoff chuckled at my story, giving me a sort of congratulatory pat on the back. "Good job Bridge! I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun…" He couldn't even finish his sentence without laughing.

I sighed. "Gee. Thanks."

xxxxx

The rest of the weekend had been somewhat difficult, to say the least. I had to explain _everything _to him, since apparently he hadn't bothered to do any sort of research whatsoever. I explained to him how I was having identical twins due to the fact that they shared a single sac, or the complications and the need to be extra careful, or that I needed to be putting on far more weight than a regular pregnancy alone (which was probably his least favorite thing to hear about-go figure). He didn't seem to understand that the weekend was meant to be preparing for the baby. He wanted to keep talking about his "buddies" back home and the antics that he's been up to since starting school.

We'd had a few make-out sessions between chatter and errands, but, for the first time, it felt sort of awkward. It was even worse when he tried to take things further. The thought of ever doing anything sexual again made me sort of want to barf. I figured he would know better than to try to make advances while I'm in Hormone Hell, but I guess not.

I didn't want to be relieved that he had left, but I kind of was. I was even happier when the Baby Patrol had come to chat for a few hours to see how the weekend had gone.

"My dad kept meaning to apologize about Saturday morning," Courtney commented. "He just didn't want to disturb you guys' contract. He had just been so caught up and stressed with taking care of my grandma and his sister's wedding that it had slipped his mind that you were staying. Plus I think it just freaks him out. He had to pick up a lot of slack with Kendall way back when."

"Who's Kendall?" Zooey asked, shoving a pretzel in her mouth. I had given her all of my bags of pretzels that Ms. Gibbs had bought for me. They were so _nasty_.

"Isn't that your older sister?" Trent interjected.

"Technically my older half-sister. My mom and dad met when Kendall was two. Her birth dad had left the picture before she was even born. My dad sort of stepped in and played the father role. And of course, they had me six years later."

Zooey smiled. "Aww! That's super sweet of your dad!"

Courtney sighed. "I think sometimes he likes to hang it over my mom's head. It's almost sort of sad. 'Look at me, I stepped in and fathered a child that wasn't mine.'"

"Let's focus on Bridgette," Trent quickly changed the subject. "Did you have a good weekend?"

I exhaled sharply. Was I supposed to tell them the truth? I mean, it was just one weekend. Certainly things would get better, right?

"Courtney! Are you going to finish making dinner for your friends? If not, come clean this mess up!" Ms. Gibbs shouted from downstairs.

Courtney groaned and stood up. "Zooey, come with me and help me finish making the pizza and salad. You helped me make the mess."

Zooey frowned. "Okay, okay."

"Trent, watch over Bridge, will you?" Courtney shouted as she left the room.

I hated hearing that sentence all the time. As much as I probably needed it, it made me feel like a total basket-case. Did I really need to be monitored _that _much?

"So…how _was _Geoff?" Trent's voice softened.

"He…I don't really know what to think, honestly. He doesn't seem like he cares about the babies whatsoever. But it _is _still pretty early in the pregnancy. I think he's still adjusting."

We were silent for a few minutes. Trent shot his head down, his eyes staring into the floor.

"I broke up with Gwen."

"Oh my god Trent! Are you okay?!" I gasped.

He turned his head back up to me, frowning. "It needed to happen. The chemistry just…wasn't there. I was fighting and fighting because I thought I needed to. I convinced myself that I needed better, that the Gwen I thought was there was gone."

I scooted closer to Trent, wrapping my arms around him. "Trent. I'm so sorry things didn't work out."

He leaned into me. "Thanks Bridgette. I know it's going to be okay. I'm honestly not too upset about it. Well, I was upset about it for a little while, but…I know I did what's best for me."

We pulled apart from the hug. He turned his head to me, smiling softly.

"It's going to be okay. For you and for me both. We've got ourselves a great little group of friends here, right?"

"Yeah…"

Silence filled the room once more. This time, though, the silence wasn't so uncomfortable. It was almost peaceful.

Then, out of nowhere, we kissed. Not just a little peck, either. Like a full on, passionate kiss, lasting for several seconds. I ran my fingers through his hair as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled himself closer.

We pulled away and gasped at the same time.

"Trent…I…" I could only stutter.

His face turned bright red. "Bridgette. I didn't mean…I…that…wasn't supposed to be…"

I nodded. "Yeah…that…we were just…yeah…" Neither of us could form words.

Trent stood up. "I think I need to go…I'll see you tomorrow, Bridge."

He dashed out of the room as Courtney and Zooey entered with pizza and salad. They stared at him quizzically as he ran towards the front door, leaving without saying goodbye.

"Uh, what's wrong with him?" Courtney asked. "He didn't even say goodbye?"

Zooey set the pizza onto the floor and took a seat next to me. "I guess he was feeling sick or something."

Courtney shrugged. "I'm sure he'll explain tomorrow. Let's eat, I'm starving!"

I had a hard time getting the food down. Well, harder than usual. At least I had pregnancy to blame for not wanting to eat, with all of the butterflies and nerves jumping around my stomach a mile a minute.

I felt guilty. I technically cheated, right? I didn't know what I felt worse about. Was it the fact that I kissed him in the first place?

Or was it the fact that I really, really enjoyed it?


	10. Chapter 10

"Congratulations Ms. Fields, you are having two baby girls!" the doctor exclaimed excitedly.

I turned my head and caught sight of the sonogram. My heart melted. As frustrating as this whole pregnancy was, looking at my two baby girls was just…unexplainably exciting. They were my daughters. I already knew I loved them so much.

"Bridge, they're beautiful already!" Courtney gushed.

I got myself cleaned up and returned to the room I had been in with the doctor beforehand. He smiled as he handed me a picture of the sonogram. I put it inside of my wallet, just like any other stereotypical expectant mother.

"Now, make sure you keep up the weight gain progress. You're doing pretty well, so keep it up! Also, don't forget to keep taking the prenatal vitamins I've given you and keep up a healthy diet. I'll see you again in two weeks, Ms. Fields!"

The doctor and I shook hands. I knew by now that I should be expecting the weight gain, but it was still a bummer. By now, I could barely fit into my super stretchy sweatpants.

"Come on Bridge! Let's head to school!"

Once we left the doctor's office, Courtney let out her barely-contained excitement.

"Bridgette! You're having baby girls! That's so exciting! I'm going to go ahead and start making lists of things to buy for you to use. Do you know any names so far?"

I climbed into the car and laughed. "Am I supposed to come up with one right now?"

Courtney started the engine and backed out. "Oh not at all. But you should definitely _think _about it. Surely you've given it some thought?"

I twiddled my thumbs. "I know that I want Geoff to be able to name one of them. But that still leaves me a name to come up with."

"Are they taking Geoff's last name?"

I felt a twinge of guilt hearing Geoff's name after what had happened last night. I had been trying so hard to convince myself that the kiss wasn't enjoyable and that it meant nothing. I loved Geoff. Not Trent.

"I don't know. Maybe they'll take mine! There's no need to stick with tradition, considering these kids aren't being born into any sort of traditional family…"

"How about you hyphenate? Hyphenated names always sound so sophisticated."

"Fields-Rupert? Not exactly all that sophisticated." I snorted in laughter.

"I like the idea of a hyphenated name personally. It attaches both of the parents to the children without necessarily attaching the parents to each other."

I laughed nervously. Did she happen to catch on to what had happened? Did she see what happened? Oh god. If Courtney and Zooey found out…there would be big trouble.

"W-why would you suggest Geoff and I not attaching to each other? That's crazy! I love Geoff! I promise! Really!"

"Relax, Bridge! I wasn't trying to make it sound like you guys wouldn't stay together. It's just something I would do, that's all!"

I sighed, somewhat in relief. Hopefully she _hadn't _caught on.

xxxxx

My mind had been constantly switching between baby names and The Kiss throughout the whole school day. Well, okay, the only time that baby names had crossed my mind was after I had sent a picture message of the sonogram to Geoff, telling him that they were girls and to start thinking of names. I really didn't know what to name my girl. I knew it was supposed to be something deep and meaningful, but I couldn't think of anything. But that was okay. I had another two trimesters to go.

But The Kiss…wow. I had felt a spark that I had never felt before, not even with Geoff. I convinced myself that it was just lust. I just found Trent to be attractive and enjoyed the kiss, but that didn't mean I _loved _him like I loved Geoff. Not even liked him.

I dreaded lunch the most. I knew for a fact I would be seeing Trent, unless he decided to chicken out of sitting with us. But even if he had, Courtney and Zooey would know something was up.

When I arrived at the lunchroom, Trent was the only one sitting at the table, silently biting into his sandwich. He turned and locked eyes with me before motioning for me to join him.

"Listen, Bridge. I think we need to talk. About last night…" Trent started. I nodded profusely.

"Oh yeah definitely. I…I don't know what I was thinking…I was just…" I interjected.

"I was caught up in the moment," Trent continued. "My emotions were very overwhelmed."

"Yeah. Me too. I was just frustrated with Geoff. But that kiss didn't change that. I just…"

"Yeah…"

We stayed silent for several seconds, making awkward eye contact.

"We're still friends, right? Can we put this behind us?" Trent asked.

I sighed in relief. "Yes. We're just friends. That kiss is totally behind us."

Courtney and Zooey arrived soon afterwards, and things seemingly went back to normal. The Kiss was officially behind us.

xxxxx

Geoff called me soon after I had gotten home from school that day. I was glad; I told myself that hearing his voice would make me forget all about Trent.

"Babe! I got your picture! I'm _so _stoked! We're having two little dudettes!" Geoff shouted in excitement.

"I know babe, I know! Have you been thinking about baby names? Remember: you get to name one and I get to name one. So you better getting thinking if you haven't already!" I joked.

Geoff's voice got more serious. "I had been thinking about it for a while, actually. There are two names that I really like so far. Ava Grace and Emily Hope. I also like the name Peyton and the name Michelle, but I don't know any good middle names that go with them. Peyton Michelle maybe?"

"Well, we don't have to decide any time soon, that's for sure. But I'm glad you've thought of some! I'm completely stuck. I might steal one of yours if you're desperate."

"Babe, I'm really excited. And I can't wait to see you and the girls in person in a couple of weeks! I love you babe!"

"I love you too, Geoff." _Click. _

xxxxx

"Don't be so nervous, Bridge! Everything is going to be okay. They were nice enough to offer you the job in the first place. They're going to be perfectly lenient with you, I swear."

I started to breathe heavily from nerves as Courtney drove me to the mall to start my first shift at Maternity World. I didn't know what to expect whatsoever. I had never had any sort of job before in my life. Now, my two daughters depended on it.

"What if I screw something up and get fired the first day?"

"They aren't going to do that, Bridge!"

Courtney pulled up in the back parking lot, near the employee entrance for Maternity World. I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car.

"I can do this. I have to do this. For my daughters." It still felt weird to say daughters. It was one thing that I was pregnant with a baby, but now I had _daughters. _

As I entered, the manager, whose name I'd learned was Andrea, was waiting patiently, smiling.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Bridgette! We're glad to have you here today!"

"Glad to be here…" I muttered nervously in response.

Andrea guided me out of the break room and to cash register near the front of the store, smiling. "Since you'll be primarily working the sales floor, I'm going to have Maya help you learn your way around the store. We aren't expecting too big of a sales rush today, so hopefully you'll get a chance to learn how things work around here. I'm usually in the back doing paperwork and ordering stock, so you might not see me too much. But if you guys need anything, don't be afraid to buzz me out!"

I turned to face a rather tall woman who looked to be somewhere in her fifties. Her clothes were brightly colored, to the point that they nearly clashed. Her makeup only consisted of a bright red lipstick, which clashed too perfectly with her dark complexion. The top of her head was covered with a large purple bandana. She looked like quite the, well, _character. _

"Maya, this is Bridgette!" Andrea excitedly announced.

Maya grinned and pulled me into a small embrace. "I am so pleased to meet you, girl! You're going to love working with us here! I know it!"

I smiled awkwardly. I wasn't expecting her to be so, uh, forward.

"I'm sure I will. I'm definitely looking forward to it!" I faked enthusiasm as best as I could.

She caught sight of my baby bump and smiled. "You're expecting, right? Andrea had mentioned it earlier."

I blushed. I was kind of scared of the judgment I would get from my coworkers, even if I _was _working in a maternity store.

"Yeah. I'm twelve weeks along. I'm going to try my best to hide it, though. I know it's kind of an embarrassment," I muttered in reply.

Maya chuckled and set her hand on my shoulder. "Sweetie, there is _nothing _to be ashamed of! A baby is a blessing no matter what the circumstances! It's not age that matters, it's the way you raise 'em."

I smiled awkwardly. "Erm. Thanks."

In the three hours I was there, I felt as if I'd had a lot of information jammed down my throat. I had to learn where everything in the store was located, how to work the register, how to approach customers, emergency procedures, cleaning basics, and so on. I'd managed to learn quite a bit about Maya as well, since she talked a mile a minute. She was fifty-five with two kids in their thirties (she'd had her first born at nineteen, so she could almost sympathize with my situation). She had worked at a Dillard's for fifteen years, serving five of those years as assistant manager, before she got fed up with rude customers (or rather, as she put it, "men who were pigs"). She decided to get a job working here at Maternity World instead. I told her a little about myself, too. I told her about Geoff and that I was living with the Gibbs family, and that I wanted to work at Maternity World to save money for the twins.

Courtney grinned and waved at me as I approached the car after my shift. She squealed as I got in.

"How was your first day of work Bridge? I can't wait to hear all about it!"

xxxxx

Friday night had called for yet another small get together with the Baby Patrol, though a minor one, since I'd had work in the morning. It was almost sort of funny how often the four of us started hanging out since the beginning of the school year.

Courtney, Zooey, and I enjoyed a small amount of Girl Time since Trent would be running late. We pulled out the face masks and nail polish and started chattering.

"Do you think Trent likes me?" Zooey asked while painting her big toe. "I mean, I know he likes me as a friend and stuff. But is there a chance he would like me more?"

_Not a chance _I thought to myself. I felt a little twinge of jealously when she had mentioned him, but I brushed it aside.

"I don't know. I could definitely see it happening!" Courtney gushed, blowing gently onto her left hand. I was almost taken aback. Courtney was usually pretty straight up with how she felt about things. She would never downright lie to Zooey about something like that.

Unless she was being honest. Then that would've made me feel ten times worse.

I stayed silent as their conversation continued.

"I think I might ask him to dinner tomorrow night. You know, nothing big. Just something casual. Just as friends. Maybe if we have some alone time and get to know each other better, something could happen."

"You might have an advantage, considering he just broke up with Gwen. You can catch him on the rebound!" Courtney giggled and winked.

"I just…he's a really great guy. I think things could really go well for the two of us. He's a guy I could see myself with for a really long time!"

Zooey turned her attention to me as I casually filed my nails, looking to the floor. I knew I needed to encourage her to go out with Trent. I needed to get my mind _away _from him.

"I think you should go for it, Zooey. You two would be good for each other!" I did my best to fake enthusiasm.

_You don't like him. Zooey likes him. You like Geoff. You love Geoff._

"How about this? When Trent gets here, I'll mention doing dinner tomorrow night with the four of us. But then you two say that you can't make it, so it's just Trent and I. That way I don't have to target him full-on at _first. _Then we have one-on-one time!"

Courtney smiled. "I'm in. Are you, Bridge?"

I nodded, forcing a huge, cheesy smile.

The doorbell rang.

I noticed the wet nail polish on both Zooey and Courtney and hopped up. "Hey, that must be Trent. I'll go get him!"

I dashed down the stairs with some sort of weird enthusiasm. I didn't even want to see him. In fact, I really _didn't _want to. But somehow, I still really did.

I opened the front door and Trent stepped inside, grinning casually.

"Hey Bridge! Where are Courtney and Zooey?"

I felt my breaths getting shorter.

_You don't like him. You don't like him._

"They're upstairs painting their nails."

Trent snickered. God his laugh.

I mentally slapped myself. _You. Love. Geoff!_

"There's something that I really want to get off my chest before we head upstairs…" Trent murmured quietly.

My heart started pounding profusely. Oh God.

"I know it was supposed to mean nothing…but I really enjoyed that kiss," Trent whispered.

"Trent…" I was practically trembling.

We shared another kiss, this one being much shorter and much less passionate. Still, I felt crazy tingles.

"Trent. I enjoyed it too. But we really need to double check ourselves. I have a boyfriend and you just broke up with your girlfriend. We need to remember that we're just friends, right?"

Trent nodded. "You're _so _right. I don't even know where those kisses keep coming from, anyways."

I sighed. "Me either."

Silence filled the room, as Trent and I looked away in opposite directions.

"Plus, Zooey really likes you. I can't just go and kiss the guy she likes!" I mentioned.

"Right. Zooey. I think she's pretty cute. I think I'm going to give her a chance."

We both smiled and nodded at each other.

"Because we're just friends, right?" he asked.

"Definitely."

The two of us headed back for Courtney's room, pretending as if the tension had actually disappeared.

"So, twin girls! Are you excited?"

I nodded and pulled my wallet from my pocket, showing him the sonogram. The sonogram that affirmed my life, and my love, for Geoff, not him. I needed a reality check. Geoff and I were having these baby girls. Mommy and Daddy. Bridgette and Geoff.

Right?


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys! I would normally be updating my other story (Confessions of a So-Called Murderer. I go in a pattern.) But I'm feeling a little writer's block on that one so far. I'd love if you guys would check it out and tell me what you think! I love detailed reviews, so go for it!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy. **

**I don't own Total Drama. **

**xxxxxx**

"You know what Bridgette? You can be a total bitch sometimes! A total fucking bitch! I'm trying as best as I can and you sit here and treat me like I'm some dumbass who can't handle anything!"

Geoff charged towards my bedroom door, trying to walk away and leave. I ran in front of him, standing against the door.

"You're not going _anywhere," _I muttered coldly. "You can't just run away like that! This is your responsibility, too!"

"Then why are you so mad?"

"You spent three hundred dollars throwing a party for your friends! That's three hundred dollars that could have gone to the twins!"

"Well _excuse _me for wanting to let loose every now and then!"

"You don't get to let loose when you have two babies on the way!"

Geoff grunted and sat down on my bed and folded his arms. I sighed.

The past eight weeks had been absolutely crazy. Geoff had visited three times already, and we spent most of each time fighting. I knew my crazy hormones were partially to blame, but sometimes he just made stupid decisions. Like the party. I was at twenty weeks and had ballooned up like no other. I was actually pretty happy that I got a decent employee discount at Maternity World, because I was growing like _crazy. _Trent and Zooey had started dating, and both kisses, as well as any romantic hints, were gone. Though admittedly, it had made Baby Patrol meetings kind of awkward. But, as I watched Geoff fuming while sitting on my bed, I decided it was the least of my worries.

"I still have almost a thousand dollars saved," Geoff muttered.

"We're going to need a _lot _more than a thousand dollars!" I shouted.

"Well then what do you want me to do?!"

"No more parties!"

"Fine. If that's what it takes to get you to calm the _fuck _down, then so be it!"

"Don't curse at me!"

Geoff exhaled and unfolded his arms. "Can we just…be done with this? I promise. No more parties."

I paused and took a deep breath before sitting on the floor next to the bed. "Let's talk about something else, then. Have you thought of a name yet?"

Geoff scratched his head and sighed. "I'm stuck between Ava Grace and Emily Hope. I didn't like Peyton Michelle too much."

"What made you pick those names?" I asked, attempting to keep an actual conversation going.

"Well, Ava was my grandma on my mom's side. We were really close before she passed away. Emily was my mom's best friend who was a total MILF. And Peyton was the first lady who sold me alcohol illegally."

I turned my nose up. I was going to steal a name from Geoff if I ended up not being able to think of one. But they all sounded terrible.

"I think you should go with Ava Grace. It's pretty," I replied, trying not to instigate any fights despite his disturbing response.

"What about you babe? What's your little dudette going to be named?"

I bit my lip. I'd been having the hardest time to come up with a name. My family was completely out of the question. I could maybe name her Ana after Ms. Gibbs for all of her help, but I figured that would be awkward, considering that we weren't _that _close, paired with the fact that my daughter would be white and not Hispanic.

"I don't know. I'm still thinking about it. I, uh, want it to be perfect."

I glanced over at my alarm clock, which read 6:30 PM.

"Oh shit! Geoff! We're supposed to meet Trent and Zooey at the Flaming Moose in thirty minutes! We need to get ready!"

Geoff glanced up at me quizzically, raising his eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't you remember? Trent is treating the four of us to dinner tonight. So you guys can reconnect? So we can have a nice dinner?"

Geoff scanned himself before glancing back up at me. "Yes I remember. What's wrong with the way I look now?"

"Geoff! This is a _nice _restaurant! Suit and tie please! Mr. Gibbs loaned you one. It's in the kitchen."

Geoff grumbled and sauntered out of the room.

I slipped my dress on and examined myself in the mirror. My stomach stuck out so far, despite the fact that the dress was flowy. I just wanted to look beautiful for _one _night, and not like the teenaged girl who got herself pregnant.

A few tears fell from my eyes as Geoff reentered, suit in hand.

"Aw babe, what's the matter?"

More tears. "Geoff, I look huge! I don't want to go in public looking like this!"

Geoff dropped his suit and rushed over to hug me. "Babe. You look beautiful. I promise. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, pregnant or not!"

He kissed me on the cheek and I smiled. And, just like every other fight, all was forgiven.

xxxxx

Despite how much I had dressed up for the Flaming Moose, I still felt horribly out of place when Geoff and I showed up that night. I got more than an eyeful of slender, sexy women and their buff, sexy dates. And while I reckon I had the buff, sexy date, I was a whale.

I felt a little better once I spotted Zooey and Trent waiting for us at a table. Zooey squealed and waved us over.

"Hi! Geoff! I'm Zooey!" Zooey plunged her hand towards Geoff.

"Hey, Geoff! Nice to see you man!" Trent exclaimed as we took our seats.

"Yeah dude! What up my brother?!"

Trent and Geoff chattered on as I opened up my menu. After scanning it for a few minutes, I felt defeated as everything sounded nausea-inducing.

Zooey turned to me and giggled. "Isn't this awesome? They're getting along great! I already hear the wedding bells!"

I rolled my eyes and snickered. "You guys have been dating for like two months. Don't jump _too _far ahead!"

A waitress stepped beside our table, grinning. "I guess these are the two guests you were expecting! What can I get you two to drink?"

"I'll have a Miller Light, bra!"

I glared at him. "Show her some ID, Casanova."

"Relax, Bridge. I was just joking! I'll have a Sprite please!"

The waitress's smile fell a bit as she wrote his order down. "And for you, miss?"

"I'll just have a water, please."

The waitress stepped away. Zooey cleared her throat loudly.

"Hey guys! Let's all thank Trent for tonight. This was so sweet of my pooky-bear! Right schnookums?"

Trent laughed nervously. "I reckon it was!" His voice lowered to a whisper. "Zooey, I told you! No embarrassing names in public!"

Zooey grabbed his hand, which he awkwardly returned.

Geoff put his arm around me. "So how long have you two been dating?"

Trent was silent. Zooey rubbed his arm, grinning practically from ear to ear.

"It's been almost two months. I was like, super nervous to ask him out. I had to pull one of those moves where I pretended to invite the four of us out and Courtney and Bridgette had to pretend they couldn't. It totally worked, too. Before you know it, we were an item!"

The waitress, who had appeared sometime during Zooey's rant, rolled her eyes as she walked away.

Trent turned his attention to me, his face melting into a more genuine smile. I couldn't help but smile back, feeling that same fluttery feeling that I kept begging to go away.

Geoff laughed. "Wow. Bridge was a lot harder than that. It took a lot of convincing!"

The waitress cleared her throat. We hadn't even noticed her.

"Are you guys ready to order?"

Trent closed his menu. "I'll have the hanger steak, please."

"Make that two!" Zooey shouted.

"I think I'll have the seared red fish," Geoff added as he handed the waitress his menu.

I closed my menu and frowned. "Can… I just have the kid's chicken tenders?"

The waitress grabbed my menu. "I _guess _so. Let me know if you guys need anything." She started to walk away. "Pregnant women and their stupid cravings," she muttered to herself.

Gee, thanks.

Zooey and Geoff continued conversation, while Trent and I continued…er, staring. I think we both wanted to turn away but somehow couldn't. It just felt so…deliciously invigorating.

It was weird. Things were supposed to feel okay the way they were. Geoff and I were together, and Zooey and Trent were together. The status quo. The way it should be. But something still didn't feel right.

xxxxx

Geoff and I had managed to get into another fight right before he left the next morning. He had gotten mad at me for cutting off his beer order at the Flaming Moose. ("Babe, I was totally just going to use my fake! Why did you have to blow it like that?"). We didn't even hug or kiss goodbye whatsoever. He just stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

I guess I had been noticeably upset at work later that day, because Maya pulled me aside to ask what was wrong.

"Bridgette sweetie! What's got you down?"

I sighed. "Oh nothing. Just hormones I guess."

Maya raised her eyebrow. "Something _else _is up. I can tell. You can tell me, you know! It's not like I'm going to tell anybody you know or anything. Come on. Tell Mama Maya what's wrong!"

Tears welled up into my eyes. "Oh Maya, Geoff is becoming such an asshole! We're trying so hard to make it work but we've been fighting kind of a lot lately. Sometimes I just feel like we have such different ideas on what to do with our children. How are we supposed to parent together if we can't agree on _anything?" _

Maya smiled softly and pulled me into a short hug. "Bridgette, you have to remember that you're only sixteen. Neither of you really have it figured out just yet."

"I know, but I need to have it figured out before the girls come! I can't be a teenager and a mom at the same time!"

Maya laughed. "You want to know a secret? Mothers never really have it figured out, no matter if they're sixteen or forty-six! Parenting is usually about making one decision at a time. It may seem like you have to get everything together now, but I promise you, you really don't need to. What really matters is that you two love each other. Do you two?"

I sighed. "I think so. I think I do really love him."

"Well, you've still got another twenty weeks to figure that one out, too."

I smiled and gave Maya another hug. "I don't know how you always know what to say! But I really do appreciate it!"

"Sweetie, you know I'm always here for you!"

It was weird how Maya and I had gotten kind of close. It didn't feel like a motherly thing (despite the fact that she called herself Mama Maya towards almost everyone she knew), or a friend thing, or a coworker thing. It just felt like…a Maya thing. Spending time with Maya felt like I was putting the rest of my life on pause and giving commentary on everything that's happened. She always gave pretty good advice, too. Needless to say, shifts where I worked with Maya were my favorite. I'm sure Andrea had caught on too, since the majority of our shifts were together.

"I swear Maya, it's like you're an endless vault of knowledge!" I joked as I put some maternity shirts on a shelf.

Maya chuckled. "Honey, I've just been there and done that. I was in your situation at one point, too. And you know what? Above all, I turned out just fine. And I _know _you will too. You're a good girl. You're sweet and kind and gentle and you're going to be a great mother!"

xxxxx

Later that night, as I was working on homework, I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in!" I shouted, thinking it was either Courtney or Ms. Gibbs.

The door creaked open slowly as I finished up an algebra problem.

"Hi."

I turned to see Trent standing in the room, smiling meekly. He gently shut the door behind me.

I sat up and smoothed my hair and clothes. "Trent! What are you doing here?"

Trent sat next to me on the bed. "I just wanted to say thank you for dinner last night. I had a good time. I know it takes a lot of energy for you to get up and go out like that, and I'm really glad you did."

I snorted. "You came out all this way to say that? Thank _you, _Trent. You're the one who paid!"

Trent sighed, his face falling. "In all honesty, my grandparents were fighting and I wanted to get out of the house for a couple of hours. Plus, I could really use some advice."

"What's up? What's the problem?" I asked.

He turned to face me, his eyes gazing into mine. It felt like a cheesy film moment. Another spark lit up in me.

_Bridgette. Stop. He's dating your best friend. You're in love with GEOFF. _

"I'm having a little trouble with Zooey," Trent muttered.

I felt bad for the little twinge of excitement that shot through me.

"What's the matter? What's going on?"

Trent scratched his head. "I just…things seem like they're going great. We get along well. We seem to like each other okay. But…the _spark _isn't there. My heart sometimes doesn't feel like it's in it. I just…I know I like her. Why can't I feel it? What do I do?"

My voice softened. "You can't just _force _it. You just have to feel it. It will feel right. When I was first with Geoff, it just felt…it felt right, you know? Don't you remember how it felt with Gwen?"

Trent chuckled. "Kind of like…this fluttery flying feeling. My heart would race just by looking at her!"

Our eyes continued to lock. "It just feels like…you want nothing else in the world but them…" I muttered softly.

"Like in the moment…nothing even matters except the two of you," Trent continued.

"This sort of connection…" Words slipped away from both of us, and we continued to lock eyes.

Trent shook his head and glanced away. "I like Zooey. I really do. I could grow to love her."

I nodded. "I really love Geoff, too. It's good that we both have people like that in our lives."

Silence. Trent's hand slid closer to mine. I let mine slide back.

"I don't know why this happens Bridgette, or why I can't fight it," Trent murmured.

"It's nothing. It's nothing. We're just friends. This stuff is just us being stupid," I replied, blinking rapidly.

We locked eyes again before pulling into a passionate kiss.

Soon that kiss turned to making out, and before I knew it, I was completely blindsided my own emotions, letting my body take control.

**xxxxxx**

**A/N: I'm not a parent, so I don't know if I'm getting the motherly advice right. It's just what I've heard from people. Oh well :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sorry there was a bit of a delay on this story. I got really caught up with work and school. Thankfully, the school part is over (at least for the rest of the summer). **

**I promise you guys the babies are coming within the next two chapters. But I couldn't cut right to the ending without letting a little more drama in! At this point, I think I could give even ABC Family a run for their money. **

**I hope you guys enjoy! I own nothing, as usual. **

**xxxxxx**

Waking up in my bed the next morning was the most terrifying moment in my life.

Next to me was Trent, who had a blanket wrapped around his naked body, sleeping peacefully. I was confused, as memories from the night before hadn't quite kicked in.

I looked down at my own naked body and suddenly it all flooded into me: the softness of it all, the romantic bond I had felt. In all honesty, it felt the way my first time was probably supposed to feel.

But soon after, the guilt crept into my mind at full force. Not only did I cheat on my own boyfriend, I had slept with my best friend's boyfriend. I'd essentially hit a huge low bitch-wise.

"Trent! Wake up right now!" I hissed as I shook him.

Trent groaned and rolled over to face me as his eyes opened. His eyes soon widened in shock as he became fully awake.

"Bridgette…you're naked. And I'm in your bed…" he muttered softly as he sat up. He scratched his head and blinked a couple of times. "Did we…"

I nodded as tears began to well up in my eyes.

"Holy…how did this happen?"

"I don't know, Trent! You were the one that came over last night! You obviously had _some _sort of ulterior motive!"

"Yeah, it's all _my _fault. Like you weren't jumping all over me as well!" Trent sighed and picked his shirt off the floor beneath him, slipping it on. "I can't believe we did this to Zooey and Geoff…"

Tears streamed down my face at full force. "I know! Trust me, I know. I don't know why these things keep happening between the two of us but we need to _stop_!"

Trent nodded wordlessly. Silence filled the room for several minutes.

I didn't know what to do. Was I supposed to tell Geoff? How would Zooey react? How would the Gibbs react knowing I'd taken advantage of their kindness by having sex under their roof?

I didn't have to wait long for the answer to the last question, though, as Courtney barged into the room a couple of minutes later.

"Hey Bridge! Mom wants to take us Christmas shopping! Hurry and get up before your hot chocolate gets-"

Courtney froze as she eyed Trent, who had barely finished dressing himself, and me, still naked in the bed.

Trent stood up and brushed his shirt off. "I need to head to home. Bridgette, Courtney…er…I'll see you later."

Trent practically sprinted out of the room, leaving me hanging.

Courtney shut the door, her jaw wide open.

"You didn't…holy _shit_!"

"Courtney, it's not what it looks like!" That was totally useless. It was exactly what it looked like.

"That looked a whole lot like a giant walk of shame there! How did this happen?!"

More tears.

"Bridgette what the hell is going on here? You just cheated on Geoff! And with Trent? Do you have any idea how hurt Zooey would be if she ever found out?!"

I was too choked up. I didn't know what to say. All I could do was keep crying and crying.

"What made this happen, anyways? I thought you two were just friends? I would've never guessed…I just…oh my God Bridge! Say _something_!"

I grabbed the blanket and held it to my front side as I stood up, picking up my pajamas. "Courtney…I don't know what happened. One moment he's just in here visiting me because he'd gotten into a fight with his grandma, and the next moment I'm waking up and he's naked in my bed beside me. I don't know how it happened, it just did."

Silence. I began to panic.

"This kind of stuff has been happening. It's weird. It's like, for these short moments in time, we become overtaken by some weird lust that we can't explain and…god we've kissed before but I never thought _this _would happen. It feels like some sort of monster that's overtaking me every time I see him and I need to learn to _fight _it, because it's killing me! And now I've gone and screwed everything up! Please Courtney, please don't hate me, because I don't mean to keep screwing up like this, I just do!"

Courtney's face softened. "Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones? Maybe they're just making you do crazy things that you would never do normally."

"I don't know what it is, Courtney, but I need to learn how to make it stop before somebody gets hurt. Hell, who am I kidding? I've already inadvertently hurt two of the closest people in my life…" I collapsed back into tears.

Courtney sighed. "Look, you need to promise me that you're not going to tell Zooey or Geoff. You've got to swear Trent to secrecy, too. It was a one-time deal, nobody will know, and we're going to act like it never happened. We can't let this interfere with everything."

I was obviously in no position to argue. "You're right. Okay."

"And as far as I'm concerned, I didn't see anything. Now hurry up and get dressed!"

And with that, Courtney left the room. I dropped the blanket and wandered over to my closet, picking out a large sweater and some maternity jeans. God, I hated having to wear maternity clothes all the time. They made me feel old and ugly.

As I finished slipping my clothes on, the phone rang.

"Bridgette, it's for you!" Ms. Gibbs called out from downstairs.

I picked up the phone in my room.

"Bridgette…I'm sorry I left like that…I just…" It was Trent.

I cut straight to the point. "Trent, look, Courtney knows but she's sworn to secrecy. In fact, she wants _us _to swear to secrecy. We don't tell anybody, we don't talk about it, we essentially pretend it never happened and we stop acting so idiotic!"

"Wow. Um. Okay. Sounds good to me…" Trent muttered back. "You're right. We are being stupid. Let's both promise we'll stop here and now."

"I promise. So now let's just go back to being normal, okay?"

"Okay."

The line went silent. I guess neither of us quite knew what to say.

Finally, I gave up. "Look, Trent, we're about to go shopping. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Yeah. That sounds good. Bye Bridge."

_Click. _

xxxxx

"Hey Bridge, what do you think of this necktie? I want to buy it for Dad but I don't know if the color would quite suit him right. What do you think?" Courtney held a green tie up close to my face.

I wasn't quite in the shopping mood, to say the least. As much as I tried to ignore it, thoughts of what had happened the night before kept slipping into my mind, sparking an intense mix of emotions. Feelings of joy and excitement mixed in with extreme guilt and hatred.

My thoughts were quickly cut off as I spotted none other than my little brother on the other side of the store with one of his friends.

I shook my head a couple of times. I had to be imagining things. My family never came to this mall. I'd been working here for a while now and I'd never seen any of them. There was no way.

But it was really him. He turned his head and spotted me, his eyes widening, jaw practically on the floor. My heart started racing.

"Hello? Bridge?" Courtney snapped her fingers in front of my face.

"Courtney. Alan's in here."

Courtney glanced around the store. "What? What are you talking about, your family never comes shopping over here! You're probably just seeing things."

"Well I sure hope so. I'd be beyond screwed if I ran into my family here."

"Did you like the tie or not?"

I was starting to feel like I was crazy. I knew I'd seen Alan just now. I know my own little brother.

A few seconds later, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and sure enough, Alan was standing right beside me.

"Bridgette. It really is you…" Alan murmured in a tone I'd never heard him use before.

"Alan! Oh my god…are Mom and Dad here? Oh my god…I can't let them see me. I can't. Courtney, we need to leave. Now!"

I started towards the exit, but Alan grabbed my wrist.

"Mom and Dad aren't here. I'm here with a few friends. Dan is having a sleepover tonight and he wanted us to meet here since this mall is closer to his house."

Tears began forming in his eyes. I'd never seen him like this before.

"Bridgette…I miss you more than you can even imagine."

I pulled Alan into a hug and the both of us starting crying.

"Mom and Dad have gone totally crazy since you left…" Alan muttered with his arms still wrapped around me.

"What's been going on?!"

I'd secretly been hoping he'd say they missed me, that I was welcome home. A desire I hadn't felt before suddenly flooded my body. I wanted back into my family, back into my house, back into my old life. I was willing to throw away everything. The plans Geoff and I had made with Ms. Gibbs would go down in flames if I could just go home. I wanted Mom and Dad to hug me and kiss me and support me.

"Mom's gone absolutely nuts. She's converted herself into a total religious freak. She's been going to First Assembly Church ever since you left."

"No way! That lunatic church down the road a few blocks?"

Alan nodded. "She's calling it her rebirth. She spends all of her spare time reading the Bible and praying God for forgiveness. She's trying to recreate her life in His image, apparently. She sees you as one of her sins, especially since she had you before her and Dad were married. She's trying to completely erase you from her life…well, from all of our lives."

Alan's words certainly hurt, but for some odd reason didn't surprise me too much. In fact, I figured I'd be way more upset than I was. I'd never realized how spaced away I'd become from my family. I guess I had been so distracted with everything else that they seemed to be the least of my worries, as terrible as that sounded.

"She literally spent a couple of days looking for every picture of you and burned them. She _burned _them! She's literally that crazy! She really scares me and I can't take it!"

"How has she been treating you? What about Dad?!"

In that moment, I was more worried about Alan than anything. My mom didn't surprise me one bit. Mom had a bit of a troubled past before I came around. She'd always been very mentally unstable, even to the point of excessive drinking and drug use. The doctors had always tried to put her on different medications to control her mood swings, but she always refused. She'd finally cleaned herself up when she met my dad and got pregnant with me, so the story goes. She hadn't been too crazy growing up, but we'd had the occasional bad fight here and there. Dad would always warn me to be careful not to trigger her, though. I guess my pregnancy had done the trick.

"She's okay to me. She doesn't say much to me anymore. She kind of lets me do whatever I want at this point. She's more concerned with 'purifying herself'. Dad's gone to stay with one of his friends for a while. I guess we all sort of keep to ourselves now."

I wiped a few tears away from my eyes. "Alan. I'm so sorry. Should…should I go home?"

Alan shook his head. "You can't. It'd be dangerous for you. You leaving that night was probably your smartest decision. I just…I wish you'd never even gotten pregnant in the first place…"

Hearing those words stung worse than hearing about Mom or Dad. I felt the color drain from my face. The tears were replaced with a numb feeling.

Alan must've seen the look on my face, because he started to panic.

"No, Bridge! I didn't mean that! Oh my god, no. I'm sorry. I'm a total idiot."

"It's not fair…" I muttered.

Alan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"They're acting like this is somehow a burden on _them! _I'M the one who got pregnant! I'm the one having to bear the burden here! They're selfish pricks for trying to make this about them. They needed to be here for me. They needed to support me. But instead they're fucking things up and now everything's fucked up for you and it's not fair!" I was practically screaming, soliciting a few awkward stares.

"Bridge, I don't even care about them anymore. I just miss you. I don't care what they think anymore. I still love you. I want you in _my _life."

I sighed and pulled Alan into another hug. "You know what? I _can _be. Look. I'll give you the phone number I've been using lately. You can call me as much as you want. Mom won't recognize the number so you should be okay. And we can plan more visits with each other. I'll even take you to lunch or dinner sometime if you want. I'm still here, Alan, and I love you."

I grabbed an old receipt out of my bag and a pen and scribbled down the Gibbs' phone number.

I handed the piece of paper to him, smiling weakly. "I want you to call me tonight, okay? I want to have a nice, long conversation with you. Now, go hang out with your friends, you goober, and get away from me. You smell!" I joked as I playfully shoved him.

"Pretty sure you smell worse, you poophead!" Alan shouted as he walked back over towards his friends, who seemed completely oblivious to what had just happened.

Courtney wandered back over to me. I hadn't even noticed she was gone.

"Is everything okay?"

I wiped residual tears from my cheek. "Yeah. I think so. Well, I hope so. I gave Alan the home phone number and told him to call me." I sighed. "Apparently my mom has gone totally crazy and my dad jetted."

Courtney pulled me into a hug. "Do you want to go home? That must've been pretty hard on you just now."

I shook my head and smiled weakly. "Nah. But I definitely could go for some ice cream right now!"

xxxxx

The next couple of weeks after that were definitely different than usual, to say the least. Things were still very awkward with Trent and I. We tried our best to hide it in front of Courtney and Zooey, but it became hard sometimes. Every time I saw Trent and Zooey kiss or hold hands or talk sweetly to each other I felt a twinge of extreme guilt.

On the bright side, Alan had called me that night, and every night since. He was nice to talk to. I'd completely underestimated his maturity.

One thing I was looking forward to the most was the baby shower that Courtney and Zooey were planning for me. We were having it in three weeks, Geoff's next visit after that weekend, so that he could be there. I didn't know too many details, since they wanted to keep it a surprise, which made me even more excited. I really needed something to be excited about to keep myself distracted.

Another thing that had kept me sane was Maya. She was by far the easiest to talk to out of everybody. As much as I appreciate having Courtney or Zooey or Alan, there was something about Maya that was different from everybody else, mainly because she had been through a lot of what I was going through.

I most definitely didn't hesitate to tell her what had happened once we'd had a shift together again.

"Maya," I whispered softly. "I did something absolutely awful and it's _killing _me!"

Maya hung up a t-shirt on the rack next to her. Thankfully, very few people were in the store, despite it being holiday season. Guess we had managed to pick up a slow shift.

"Oh sweetie, you know you can tell Mama Maya all about it! What's troubling you, dear?"

"Remember that guy I told you about? Trent? Well…I thought the whole kissing thing would go away when he started getting into a serious relationship with Zooey, but…it didn't. In fact, he came over a couple of weeks ago, and one thing led to another…and…we ended up…sleeping together…" I found myself choking up.

Maya pulled me into a hug, running her fingers through her hair. "Oh sweetie, there's no need to cry. It's okay. I promise you it's okay."

"Maya, things have been so crazy lately! Geoff and I fight _all _the time, but then I go and sleep with my best friend's boyfriend? And I saw my little brother…apparently my family has gone crazy beyond sanity since I left. I feel like I'm hurting everybody around me and it's all my fault!"

Maya pulled herself away from me and looked me in the eye. "What exactly do you think is your fault? What do you think you've done that is just so bad that you're crying over it?"

"Well, first, I slept with Trent and I really shouldn't have…"

"Why did you?" Maya asked, rubbing my shoulder.

"I don't know. I wasn't really thinking. I was caught up in some sort of moment. I just felt a lot of…passion and lust. The worst thing is that I really enjoyed it. I think he did too. But we agreed to never mention it again and things have been really awkward since."

"You know, if he was so willing to have sex with you, he probably doesn't really care for Zooey too much, don't you think?"

"That's not true! Well…it could be I think. But he's not a bad guy like that at all. I don't want him to earn some sort of player reputation from this because really, he's the sweetest guy I've probably ever met." Words were practically pouring out of my mouth.

"You probably both just got caught in a bad moment. You were both feeling unhappy with the way your relationships were going and just needed a moment to release the frustration. Maybe you didn't go about the best way to do it, but you're definitely not a horrible person for it. You just made a mistake, sweetheart. Everybody makes mistakes."

"I feel like my whole pregnancy was a big, giant mistake! It makes me feel like the biggest failure. I managed to tear my family apart, turn my fun summer romance into a serious, committed, strained relationship, and put a big burden on the Gibbs'. Not to mention the fact that I have to focus on rearing two children, despite being sixteen and having no real place of my own. My own mother hates me, Maya! She kicked me out and she hates me. You know it's bad when your own mom hates your damn guts!"

I collapsed into more tears. Maya pulled me back in and made quiet shushing sounds, rubbing my back.

"Let me ask you something. What if one of your daughters one day came up to you and told you that she just absolutely hated herself over a mistake she had made?"

I sighed. "What kind of mistake?"

"Any sort of mistake. Something big, let's say. Something that got her into a lot of trouble. What would you tell her? Would you still love her?"

I pulled away and bit my lip. "Of course I would still love her. She's my daughter."

"What would you tell her?"

"I guess that people make mistakes, and that it's okay. I don't know, I'd just try and be there for her, especially since I know what it feels like to make a big mistake."

"Now, don't you think your mom has made a few mistakes in the past?"

I nodded.

"So do you think it was very fair of her to throw you on the curb and reject you the way she did?"

I shook my head.

"That's the difference. You didn't know you were making a mistake. She did, and she went ahead and did it anyways. And you're already the better mother for knowing that your kids deserve better than that."

I pulled away and ran a hand through my hair. "I guess you're right. It's just weird to say all of these bad things about my own mother. You're always supposed to love your mother…right?"

Maya chuckled. "Oh honey, blood is _not _always thicker than water!"

xxxxx

"Hey Bridge! It's Zooey! Will you let me in? I really need to talk to you!"

Several violent, desperate knocks hit my door. What could Zooey possibly want this desperately?

"The door's unlocked! You can come in!" I shouted back.

The door opened, and Zooey quickly stepped inside and shut the door behind her. She quickly hopped onto my bed and pulled her knees into her arms.

I took a seat next to Zooey. "What's the matter, Zo? Is everything okay?"

Zooey took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "I think I want to break up with Trent."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She was head over heels for him before!

"What?! Why? You guys make such a great couple."

Zooey scratched her head. "I just…I don't think he likes me very much, you know…"

Well, duh. Pretty much anybody could pick up on that one, as mean as it was. But I still felt a little twinge of guilt and sadness.

"Why would you say that, Zooey? You guys are so good together. He really likes you, you know."

Zooey shook her head. "No, Bridgette, he really likes _you."_

My body froze. I felt every part of my body go numb.

"Zooey, what are you talking about? Where…where would you get an idea like that? I…"

Zooey quickly cut me off. "Look, Bridge, cut the crap."

I felt completely tongue tied and frozen in fear.

"I know exactly what happened."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: The amount of views/follows/favorites that this story has gotten is absolutely astounding. I'm very thankful for the support! I didn't know this story would become so popular. But I'm glad it did! However, I encourage you guys to leave a review if you like the story! I really appreciate all of the feedback, plus I would love a chance to get to know some of my reades. **

**Okay, I know I said the babies would come within two chapters, but I think it's going to be within the next two chapters from _now. _I can't fit everything I want to happen between now and the birth in one chapter. Oh well!**

**Enjoy, and I love you guys!**

**xxxxx**

_Kick. Kick. Kick._

Suddenly, at the worst timing possible, several kicks came from my stomach. Normally, I felt a few kicks here and there, but they were more of a light pushing feeling. But no, this time they were coming with full force. It was like both of the girls were kicking me with all of their might at the same time. What, did they hate me all of the sudden?

I fell backwards onto to bed and screamed from the pain. In all honesty, the pain didn't hurt nearly as much as the shock of it did. The kicking kept on going. Kick. Kick. Kick.

Zooey's face quickly dropped from anger to worry as I fell backwards.

"Shit! Bridge! Are you okay? I didn't mean to just throw that out there like that! Shit! Are you going into labor?"

I couldn't be going into labor, could I? I was only at 25 weeks. There was no way.

I lifted my shirt and saw tiny footprints repeatedly stabbing up into my stomach in different places. Nope, just kicking.

Zooey's face turned purple, and she quickly put her hand over her mouth. "Bridge, that looks _disgusting_!"

I pulled my shirt back down. "It's normal, believe it or not."

We both went silent. I was too nervous to speak. I felt so ashamed of myself. Really, ashamed didn't begin to describe it.

Finally, Zooey exhaled sharply and folded her arms.

"Look, Bridgette, we need to talk about this!"

I still didn't know what to say. "What do you think happened between us?"

Zooey rolled her eyes. "The kiss, Bridgette! You guys kissed that one night when we had pizza and salad. That's why he ran out of the room so damn quickly! Why didn't you tell me?"

I felt a mix of relief and extreme guilt. So she didn't _actually _know what had happened.

"Is it true? Did it actually happen?" She looked like she was about to cry.

As much as I wanted to deny everything that had been happening, I knew I at least owed it to her to be honest about at least _one _of the incidents. Hopefully she wouldn't take it _too _hard.

"Yeah. We did kiss once. I'm so sorry, Zo! It just happened out of impulse. I don't think either of us really knew what happened." I got more and more nervous the longer I talked. I started bullshitting a bit. "I think he was just really nervous about seeing you that he needed a way to get the frustration out. I don't know. It didn't mean anything at all. I promise!"

Zooey's face softened, thank god.

"Hey, it's okay. I trust you that you didn't mean anything behind it, okay? You just have to promise me."

"I promise!"

Zooey smirked. "It's probably just him that's into you. I mean, I kind of figured all along. Our relationship was kind of forced and awkward, anyways. I feel like I was his next best option because you have a boyfriend. Well, because of the whole situation, really."

"So…do you still want to break up with him?"

Zooey nodded. "I mean, just because he wouldn't have a chance with you doesn't mean I should stay with him. I don't want to be somebody's next best option. I want somebody to want _me, _not my best friend, y'know?"

I shrugged. "Aren't you scared things might get kind of awkward?"

Zooey snickered. "More awkward than they are now? In all honesty, I kind of want things to go back to the way they were before we started dating. The Baby Patrol."

"Well go ahead, then. Tell him that. Tell him you guys are better off as friends. I mean, it's not like you guys are in a _super _serious relationship, right?"

"Yeah, you're right Bridge." She leaned in closer and rested her head on my shoulder. "You know, I thought I'd be more upset about this. I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

xxxxx

It didn't take long after Zooey left for the guilt to creep into my mind. She was my best friend, and I didn't even have the heart to tell her the whole truth. I didn't want it to be true. I kept wishing and wishing that what I felt for Trent wasn't actually there. I wanted to love Geoff. I kept telling myself that it was just my crazy pregnancy hormones. But it was more than just a mood swing. It was a feeling that I had never really felt before in my life.

I laid down onto my bed and looked to my stomach. It was huge by now; probably huger than most normal pregnancies. I started crying and rubbing my stomach.

"Oh girls…I hate myself so much! I feel like I keep digging myself deeper and deeper into trouble as time goes by. It's getting to be so overwhelming!"

Kick. Kick. Kick. It almost felt like they were listening.

"It's hard to balance sometimes. Schoolwork, doctor's appointments, mood swings, cravings, sick feelings, uncontrollable weight gain…and now I've even managed to make a mess of my friends. I'm sixteen! I'm not supposed to be stressed the way I am. As hard as I'm trying, girls…I just don't know if I'm ready for this. I'm scared. I'm so scared. I'm scared of your dad and I's future, or my family, or the whole Trent situation. I'm scared I'm not taking my vitamins right or eating enough or eating too much. What am I going to do after high school? I can't stay with the Gibbs forever. What if I'm not a good mom? I want to be so badly. Because I love you girls more than anything. I want nothing more than to give you two the best life possible. I hope you girls know that."

I sighed and stopped rubbing my stomach. I felt kind of stupid talking to my daughters the way I was. It's not like they could give any feedback.

I pulled the old contract from my nightstand and scanned it over. It was kind of ironic to look at because we had barely followed any of the guidelines on the paper. I hadn't bothered to contact my parents once. Talking to Alan almost every day counted, right? Not that we ever talked about anything important. Usually just advice about girls or trying to deal with Mom and Dad. I also hadn't attended any of the parenting classes. I forgot they even offered those.

The guilt and the stress was eating me away. I needed somebody to talk to; somebody that could tell me things were okay, and to give me some advice. I couldn't talk to Courtney about any of this, nor Ms. Gibbs. As much as I loved them and appreciated them, I didn't feel quite right telling them what had been going on. I was ashamed of my emotions, and I didn't want them to see that side of me.

Then, one person came to mind: Maya.

I opened the drawer on the nightstand and started sifting through the papers, pulling out the list of employee phone numbers. It was totally ridiculous, sure, but at that point I didn't care. I needed to talk to her more than anything. I picked up the phone and dialed her number.

After a few rings, a groggy voice picked up. "Hello?"

"Maya, is that you? This is Bridgette!"

Maya cleared her throat. She sounded very exhausted, and her speech was very dry and croaky. "Darling, is everything okay? What's the matter?!"

"Maya…I feel so lost and confused right now and I need somebody to talk to. I know it's weird that I called you out of nowhere…but if you're not doing anything right now…please…"

"Oh honey, I'm not busy at all! Not for my sweetie Bridgette. What's the matter?"

I let all of my emotions out. Tears streaming down my face, heavy breathing, punching pillows, the whole works.

"I feel like an awful person. Zooey found out about Trent and I kissing. She was really upset just because we _kissed. _I didn't have the heart to tell her what had actually been going on between the two of us. She said she was okay with it and forgave me. She put all of the blame on Trent and decided that it was some sort of unrequited love he held for me. So we're friends again and everything should be okay, but it's not. I can't get the pain in my heart to go away."

"Why do you think you feel bad? Is it because you lied?"

"I mean, yeah, I did lie, but it's more than that. It's the fact that I _do _feel something with Trent. I don't know if it's really unrequited. I can't stop myself anymore, and it's killing me, because I have Geoff. Because I'm supposed to be having two baby girls with Geoff, my boyfriend, very soon and I'm too busy fucking around with two of my best friends. I don't feel like mother material anymore. I just feel like some skanky teenager. I'm so scared, Maya. I'm scared of my future with Geoff, or with the twins. I don't feel like I'm good enough to be a mom anymore."

Maya took a deep breath. "I need you to be honest with me, sweetheart. Do you still love Geoff?"

The question took me aback. I knew that an immediate "yes" was supposed to come out of my mouth, but it didn't. In fact, I was pretty much frozen in hesitation for a good minute.

"Aren't I supposed to, Maya? We're having babies together. We're going to be parents. Mommy and Daddy."

"Yes, honey, but do you _love _him?"

I sighed. "I did at one point, that's for sure. At least I think I did. I don't know anymore. It was just supposed to be a summer romance. It wasn't serious at all until I got pregnant. I feel like I'm just being stupid and I need to get over myself. For the twins' sake."

"So you want to stay together for the girls' sake?"

I didn't want to admit that to myself. But hearing it from somebody else was like a rude awakening.

"Yeah. I guess when you put it that way. I don't want them to grow up in a bad household. I want them to have a normal childhood. Well, as normal as possible."

"So you'd rather settle down with somebody you don't really love for their sake? What sort of message do you think you'll be sending them? They're going to grow up watching the two of you fighting, and see the distance between the two of you, and potentially watch you two go through divorce. They're going to grow up thinking that being unhappy is normal."

I'd never thought about it that way. But it still sounded crazy.

"Bridgette, you have to remember that sometimes doing what's best for yourself _is _doing what's best for the kids. Just because you two aren't together doesn't mean Geoff won't be in their lives. They'll see that, yes, mistakes happen, but they'll learn a valuable lesson in making the best out of any situation. They'll maybe watch the two of you fall in love with the right people, and grow up in households full of love, rather than tense hatred."

"So you think I should break up with Geoff? Just like that? Just…out of the blue?"

"Is it really out of the blue, Bridgette? You two fight like no other. Instead of trying to force a spark that's not there, you guys need to find another solution. I promise you, it will probably go better than you think. You need to tell Zooey the truth, too. If you just let everything out onto the table, you'll feel so much better, and you'll be able to work through what's bothering you."

"Are you sure about this, Maya? I mean…won't it be bad that my daughters won't be growing up in a more traditional setting?"

Maya chuckled. "They don't need tradition, sweetheart. All they need from you in unconditional love."

xxxxx

After lots of contemplation over those next couple of days, I decided in the end that I did need to break off the relationship with Geoff. I had planned to talk to him when he arrived Saturday morning, before the baby shower the next day. I was nervous as hell, but I needed to get it out of the way. Like Maya said, I needed to get everything out on the table and try to work through my problems.

My plan was interrupted that morning, however, when Courtney ran into my room that morning, squealing.

"Wake up Bridgette! Wake up! I have a surprise for you!"

I groaned and rolled over, facing her. "What is it?"

"Come into the kitchen!"

I lifted myself out of bed and dragged my feet behind Courtney downstairs to the kitchen, where a small package tied off with a bow was sitting on the kitchen table.

"Happy birthday, Bridgette!" Courtney shouted.

My eye twitched in confusion. It wasn't my birthday already, was it?

"Today's not my birthday, Courtney. What are you talking about?"

Courtney laughed. "Yes it is. I promise."

I looked at the date. January 14th. Sure enough, it was.

"Happy seventeenth, Bridgette!"

I groaned. I didn't want it to be my birthday. I felt like getting older was pushing me closer and closer to the due date.

"Courtney, this is really sweet, but I really don't want to think about it being my birthday right now. Can't we just focus on the baby shower?"

Courtney handed the small package to me and I opened it. It contained a fifty dollar gift card to Old Navy.

"I know you don't want it to be a big deal. But I know you're going to get a lot of baby-related presents tomorrow and I wanted to get something for _you. _Geoff and the Baby Patrol are also taking you to dinner later!"

Great. So they were trying to do something nice for my birthday. Which means I would have no time to actually talk to Geoff about an alternate plan. Now I would have to sit in my own guilt about the whole situation over dinner. Happy birthday to me.

xxxxx

I hadn't been able to stomach my dinner with everything going on. And by that, I mean I literally could not stomach it. I ended up puking all over the restaurant floor and crying. The pressure from everything was _killing _me, and the pregnancy hormones certainly weren't helping. I felt bad: they were all really going out of the way to make my birthday special, but I just didn't care. Everything was stressing me out, and I just wanted to get things resolved so I could focus on the twins when they arrived.

Being at almost 26 weeks was the scariest thing ever. First of all, I had already ballooned up to the size of a normal pregnant woman, and I still had at least ten weeks more to go. Ten weeks sounded like a long time, but with how quickly 26 weeks had gone by, ten seemed like nothing.

I think my birthday was a big wakeup call that I _didn't _have forever to get things figured out. I mean, I had prepared on a shallow level: I was saving my money diligently, reading all of the baby books, paying close attention at all of the doctor's visits. But it all felt like a giant research assignment. As everything started to crumble beneath me, though, it all became too real.

Zooey had dumped Trent by now, and to my surprise, they remained pretty good friends. I think they both knew what was best. It gave me a sort of strange hope: if their breakup went well, maybe mine would too.

But then again, I was breaking up with Baby Daddy.

That next morning, Courtney woke me up by throwing a white robe onto my bed while I was sleeping.

"Happy baby shower, Bridgette! Put this on and come down into the living room!"

I groaned and sat up, looking at the clock next to me. 11 A.M. Oops.

I slipped my pajamas off and slipped the robe on, taking a deep breath. I had to put my problems off to the side for at least that day. I couldn't ruin the hard work Courtney and Zooey had put into this.

I looked back over to the bed and noticed that Geoff had already woken up and gone downstairs.

_Hmmph. I must've been out cold. _

To my surprise, the living room and kitchen had been completely decked out in baby-themed decorations. Pink streamers lined the ceiling and walls, with a banner that read "Congratulations Bridgette and Geoff!". A diaper cake and diaper goody bags sat on the coffee table in the middle of the room. Next to it were several recliners with basins full of water beneath them. Ms. Gibbs, Courtney, Zooey, and a couple of girls from school that I talked to occasionally were sitting in the chairs, while Trent, Geoff, Mr. Gibbs, Alan, and another friend from school were sitting by the basins, massaging their feet.

"Oh. Wow! Is this…what is this? Alan? You made it?"

Alan beamed. "I told Mom I was working on a project with a classmate. She has no idea!"

Geoff motioned for me to sit in the empty seat, grinning. "Today us men are going to take care of you lovely ladies. Massages, facials, nails, the _works_!"

I burst into laughter and smiled.

"Surprise, Bridgette!" Courtney shouted as Trent massaged her feet.

"We convinced the guys to be our spa servicemen today!" Zooey giggled.

Ms. Gibbs leaned back into her chair, enjoying her foot massage. "Thankfully we had an even number of guys and girls show up. We were scared we'd have too many girls and not enough guys!"

I pulled myself into my chair and Geoff started massaging my feet. God, it felt nice. They must've been super tense with all of the stress.

"Hey, congratulations, Bridgette!" one of my classmates, Olivia, exclaimed. "Do you guys have names picked out already?"

Geoff glanced up and smiled. "I have my name picked out. Ava Grace Rupert."

"Fields-Rupert," I corrected. He scoffed.

"Oh that's beautiful! How about you, Bridge?" Olivia smiled.

In all honesty, I had no idea. I had spent awhile trying to pick out a good name but I was struggling. I didn't want to give her a weird name, or a cutesy name. I definitely didn't want the twins to have matching names. I always thought that was so tacky.

"I'm leaning towards Emily Hope," I finally stuttered out. "It's a name that Geoff picked out, but I think it's my favorite so far. I can't think of anything better, honestly."

"Those are adorable. I like them!" Olivia gushed as she leaned back into her chair.

I leaned over and noticed that we were missing one person: Maya. I felt a little jolt through my heart…surely _Maya _of all people wouldn't miss my baby shower…right?

"Hey, Ms. Gibbs…do you know where Maya is?" I tried to throw out casually. You could probably hear my voice shaking.

Ms. Gibbs frowned. "Oh sweetie…she called this morning and said she couldn't make it…she didn't sound too well. She wanted to let you know how sorry she was and that she'll try her best to make it up to you."

My heart sank. I really wanted her there. I hoped whatever she'd been sick with lately would go away soon.

xxxxx

The rest of the baby shower was fun. We played all sorts of fun baby-related games. I got some pretty nice gifts. A gift card to Babies R Us, a baby bath set, a secondhand high chair, and other various trinkets. Courtney and Ms. Gibbs had been hiding their gift for the entire afternoon, saying it was a "huge surprise". I honestly didn't know what more they would do for me. They'd already been here for me through everything.

After dinner, they blindfolded me and led me down to the basement.

"Why couldn't you guys just bring the gift up here?" I asked as I stumbled over to the basement. The others were giggling.

"I told you, Bridgette, it's too big!"

"How big can it possibly be?!"

They turned the lights on and stripped off my blindfold. I gasped.

The room had been completely decked out into a sort of mini-house. On one side was a sort of "bedroom": a king-sized bed, large nightstand and drawers, plus two cribs. On the other side was a full kitchen, with a bathroom in the corner. In the middle was a couch and a large T.V.

"Since you insist on paying rent once the babies are born, we thought we should give you guys your money's worth." Ms. Gibbs winked and smiled.

I could barely believe my eyes. It was certainly much more than the room I'd been in for the past seven-ish months.

"Is this…" I stuttered.

"It's all for the two of you. We wanted to give you guys your own _real _space, rather than cooping yourselves up in that tiny room of yours!" Courtney gushed as she pulled me into a hug.

I turned to Geoff, who was smiling softly. "Did you know about this?"

Geoff nodded. "They told me when I got here. Cool, huh?"

I scanned around the room. It looked amazing. I couldn't believe they'd go to so much work for somebody like _me. _

"Oh my God! How much work did you put into this?!" I gasped.

Ms. Gibbs chuckled. "Well not too much. Richard's mom lived with us for a while and this is where she stayed. All we had to do was some _major _cleaning and a few minor retouches."

I burst into tears. Not happy tears, like everybody was probably expecting. They were big, fat, guilty tears. I didn't deserve this. I'd fucked so much up ever since I'd gotten pregnant. It also didn't help that I wanted to break things off with Geoff. I wouldn't mind cooperating with him if all we shared was the bedroom…but now a whole little living area to ourselves?

"Courtney…Mr. and Ms. Gibbs…this is…_amazing. _Really. You guys have been so good to me. I'm so grateful for this…for _all _of this," I stuttered between sobs. "But…I don't deserve this. Really, I don't. I can't accept this gift."

"What are you talking about, Bridgette? You've been working so hard throughout your whole pregnancy. We want to be here to support you with whatever we can. You're practically a daughter to us," Ms. Gibbs replied, rubbing my back.

My voice raised to practically a scream. "No! You don't get it! I can't take this gift. I can't take anything anymore!"

All of my rational thinking or common sense flew out the window at that moment. I jetted straight past the crowd and ran outside. I ran out of breath as I hit the curb, so I tumbled down onto the pavement and just sat there, crying my eyes out.

After a few minutes of sobbing to myself, I heard Alan's voice scream "let me talk to her alone! Please!" Alan came running towards the curb, taking a seat next to me and pulling me into a hug.

"Leave me alone, Alan!" I shouted. "What, are you out here to poke fun at me like you always do?"

"Bridgette, why would I do that?" Alan asked.

"Because you're you! You're fourteen years old and you and I fight like crazy! Things never change. People never change! Geoff never changed, despite the fact that we're having a _fucking _baby. Mom and Dad never changed, even after raising us for sixteen years. And no matter how much I've tried to grow and mature, I seem like I've done nothing but turn everything to shit the minute these babies were conceived!"

Alan froze. He was shocked, to say the least.

Finally, he spoke. "Courtney never changed. She's been here for you during the entire pregnancy. Her whole family has. Zooey never changed. She loves you no matter what happens. Trent never changed. He stuck by your side and continued the friendship despite your situation. But in the end, that's not always true, you know. I think I changed. I think you changed, too."

I sighed. "Alan, I've done some awful things. I've fooled around with Trent behind Zooey's back. She has no idea and it would kill her if I ever told her the truth. The worst thing, though, is that I don't love Geoff anymore. Not in any sort of romantic way."

Alan cocked his head. "How come you never told me any of this stuff?"

"Like we ever have any deep conversation!" I shouted. "We spend our phone conversations talking about girls you like, or stuff that's happening with your friends!"

Alan ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "You're right. I'm sorry, Bridge. But I _am _trying to grow up for you. I want to be here for you, because you're my sister, and I love you."

I didn't know what to say at that point. I smiled weakly.

"So are you going to break up with Geoff? Does that mean you're going to raise the twins on your own?"

I sighed. "I want to break the romantic ties. I think we both can be parents but I think we both deserve the freedom to find the _right _person. I don't know. I just think that what we're doing right now isn't working. I want to find a better solution, more than anything."

I heard a cough from behind me. I turned over to see Geoff standing behind me, his arms folded.

"I can't believe you. You _fucking bitch._"


	14. Chapter 14

I froze. Literally, I went completely frozen from the shock of it all. Hearing such cold words coming from Geoff's mouth sent the worst kind of chills down my spine.

Alan stood up, giggling nervously. "I think I better go back inside and let you guys sort this out alone." And with that, he practically sprinted back inside.

I didn't have the nerve to stand up. All I could do was sit there. I didn't want to see him. I didn't want to look him in the eye.

"I have spent the last seven months _slaving _over preparing for our twins. I've been sacrificing my time and money to be here for you; to be here for our daughters! And now you want to _break up _with me?!"

I stayed silent. Anger began to flood my body and slowly replaced my nerves.

_Slaving? More like half-assing! _

"Are you going to say something, Bridgette? Are you seriously going to pretend that you didn't just say what I think you were saying?"

More silence.

"Bridgette, get the _fuck _up and talk to me!"

At that point, rage had completely taken me over. I stood up defiantly, folding my arms in a similar manner to his.

"Don't talk to me like that. Don't you _ever _talk to me like that again!"

Geoff scoffed. "Oh what, now you're trying to demand respect when you were practically trashing me with your little brother a few moments ago?!"

"I wasn't dissing you, Geoff. I was telling him that maybe you and I need to find a better solution than what we're doing right now." I sighed. "And it's true, Geoff. What we have now isn't working. Trying to keep this romantic bond going is a terrible idea."

"So what? You're going to break up with me? You're going to break up with me and expect me to continue supporting our kids?"

"Geoff, we need to be mature about this! It's not necessarily breaking up. We need to cut the romantic ties. We can work together as friends; team up with each other. But at some point we need to admit to ourselves that the relationship we have is unhealthy!"

"So you basically want to break up with me."

"Maybe I do! I don't want to be boyfriend and girlfriend anymore, no. We need to learn to be adults. We need to learn from our mistake and grow from it. We can't hide under this façade anymore. We need to find a way to co-parent instead. We can both be in the girls' lives, but we can't stay together anymore. It's not healthy."

"And how are we supposed to co-parent without being _together_?"

"Share the responsibility! You know, both be very involved in their lives. It _is _possible. I just…I can't raise them in an environment where we fight all the time. And if we stay together, we _will _fight!"

Geoff took a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly.

"I'm not sticking around, then."

My body went frozen once again. I couldn't believe it. I had so much hope that he could grow up and be mature. I was clearly wrong.

"Geoff…" I murmured.

"You're right! We do fight a lot and I don't think I really love you anymore! We may have never loved each other! We were just a short summer romance! Ever since you got pregnant, you've put a heavy weight on my life. You've expected me to completely change my life because of this! All those months I could've been partying, dating, being a teenager. But no, you're expecting me to grow up. I'm seventeen, Bridgette, and frankly, I can't take it anymore."

"That's not fair! They are just as much yours as they are mine!" I shouted.

"You're such a bitch, Bridgette. Really, you are. You're basically trying to hold me by the balls. I don't want to be a 'grown up'. I'm going to go out and be a teenager. This is _your _fucking problem now!"

"Geoff! We have to grow up! That's what happens when you have children! You don't get to be a kid anymore! We need to be mature about this!"

Geoff started walking towards his car, pulling his keys out of his pocket.

"Geoff, come back right now! We need to talk about this!"

"I'm done. I'm going back to my old life. I'm done with you chaining me down!"

"Geoff!"

Geoff opened his car door. "You want to know a secret? I still partied. And I've cheated on you. Dozens of times. I had to, since you wouldn't put out. I'm done, Bridgette. Have a nice life with your bastard children."

He slammed the car door shut, revved up the engine, and quickly zoomed off.

Courtney, Zooey, and Trent came running into the front yard, probably because they heard Geoff drive off.

"What the hell? Where is Geoff going?!" Courtney practically screamed. "Did he just leave? Like _leave _leave?"

Tears streamed down my face. I was too choked up to speak.

"Oh my god…" Trent muttered quietly.

"Bridgette…what happened? Holy shit, what happened?"

I felt like I was dying. My hormones were getting the best of me. The guilt, the anger, the sadness attacked my body.

"He's gone. It's all my fault. I wanted to find a better solution. We fought and fought and fought and all I wanted was to change things. I was mistaken, and I was stupid. I'm so _stupid. _I've messed so much up. Ever since I've gotten pregnant, I've just screwed everything up. I've been freeloading you, Courtney, and I feel guilty each and every day because I have basically _no _way of repaying you. And Zooey? Trent and I didn't just kiss. We slept together once, okay? And Trent, you're going to get mad at me for admitting that but I don't _care _anymore. You're all going to hate me now, but I can't handle living a lie anymore."

"Bridgette, calm down! Where is all of this coming from?"

"I need to leave. I don't deserve the kindness you guys have given me. And now I'm all alone. Geoff wants nothing to do with me and the twins anymore. I'm going to have to find a way to raise them on my own. Because I'm an adult, and I have to take responsibility for everything I've done. I know you all are going to want me gone, so here. I'm leaving!"

I started running. No particular direction, really. I just ran. I couldn't handle things anymore. I felt so disgusting. I had messed everything up the minute I consented to sleeping with Geoff. I felt like I deserved to be thrown out, to be left for dead. I felt useless.

I had made it to the end of the street before Courtney and Zooey had caught me. They pinned me down to the ground, holding onto me.

"Bridgette! It's okay! Everything's okay!" Zooey shouted.

"It's not! It's really not!"

Courtney grabbed one wrist, while Zooey grabbed the other. "Come on. Let's get you back into your room. Text Trent and tell him to tell Mom to brew some tea!"

xxxxx

Courtney, Zooey, Trent, and Alan managed to get me to sit on the bed in the basement and take a few sips of tea. We all sat in silence for a few minutes, breathing deeply and calming down.

Finally, Courtney spoke. "Bridgette, what happened out there?"

"I-I tried to tell Geoff that we needed to come up with a better solution. That the way things are going now aren't working out. He took it the wrong way, and jetted off. He told me that…that…" I started to shake.

"What? What did he say?" Trent asked, rubbing my back.

"That they're my problem now. The girls. That I basically ruined his life and he just wanted to be a teenager again."

"Oh my _god…_what an A-word!" Alan gasped.

"I don't know what to do anymore!" I shouted. "How the hell am I supposed to raise the girls on my own? Now I have no way of paying for rent or baby supplies. Oh my god. I'm going to be the poor single mother with two children who barely gets on by. I'm so totally screwed up!"

More tears. Zooey pulled me into a hug.

"Bridge, you are NOT screwed up in the least bit!" Zooey murmured as she rubbed my arm.

"Zooey, I slept with your boyfriend! I slept with my best friend's boyfriend while I had a boyfriend of my own! I deserve everything Geoff threw at me! I don't even deserve you guys' friendship!"

Zooey snickered. "Bridgette I know. Trent told me a few days ago. It's really okay. We got over it. We're friends now. Right Trent?"

Trent nodded. "We've moved on. Really. I promise it's okay!"

I bit my lip. "How? I pretty much broke the worst rule in girl code! How can you not hate me?"

"Because! You are my Bridgey-widgey and I'm your Zooey-bear! We've been best friends since kindergarten and I'm not letting something like that tear us apart. Especially at a time when you really need me the most!"

Hearing those words felt like a huge relief after everything that had happened. I leaned into her shoulder and gave her a huge hug.

"Look, we are most certainly not going to throw you to the curb, Bridgette. Especially at a time like this," Courtney chimed in. "We are one-thousand percent here for you. You don't need to give us much money, if any at all. We care most about you and your daughters' health and happiness."

I smiled. "Can I still have the basement?"

Courtney burst into laughter. "Of course! Besides, it's not like we want to listen to the babies screaming anyways! That was part of the motivation."

"I'm going to help out, too! I'll send you some money. Whatever I can earn! I'll do chores and stuff around the house!" Alan added.

"Yeah, and I'm totally down to babysit whenever you need me," Trent included.

In that moment, I felt so lucky. I had the greatest friends in the whole world. The fact that they still loved me despite everything that had happened was just…amazing.

"Look, just because Geoff trotted off like that doesn't mean his responsibilities disappear. You can easily sue for child support. And you can bet your ass that Mom and I are going to get on that instantly. He deserves it, to say the least."

I smiled weakly. "Thanks you guys. But it's going to take more effort than that. I need to take time to figure out what exactly I'm going to do…and hopefully I'll have some sort of clue before the twins are born. Maybe."

"You're going to be just fine, Bridge. Your daughters are going to be blessed to have such a wonderful mother!" Courtney beamed.

Deep down, I knew a quick conversation wouldn't solve the problems at hand. As much as I appreciated the support of everybody, I was still stuck with the possibility of raising the two girls all by myself. It was going to be hard enough back when I'd had Geoff's support. How was I supposed to single-handedly raise two children at age seventeen?

"Guys…I don't get it. On TV they make getting pregnant as a teenager look so easy. Everything always works out in the end. They don't tell you all of this. They don't tell you how hard it is in real life. How much of a struggle it is just to keep going. How much you have to give up and sacrifice."

Before anybody could reply, Ms. Gibbs came running into the room, looking visibly panicked.

"Alan, sweetie. Your parents are here."

Alan widened his eyes. "What? They weren't supposed to pick me up until 8!"

My heart practically stopped. My mom and dad were right in the room above us. They could walk in at any minute and raise hell.

Alan quickly shuffled upstairs, leaving the rest of us in hiding, petrified.

"Do you think she knows that I'm here?" I whispered.

"I don't know, Bridge. Maybe we should lock the door," Zooey replied in hushed tones.

The four of us went silent. We could hear the conversation above us.

"Alan Gabriel Fields! I have called you ten times! The Robertsons have invited us to dinner tonight and I needed you to come home and get ready!" Mom shouted.

"Mom…Dad…I'm sorry…" Alan muttered.

"Whose house is this anyways? What sort of project were you working on?" Mom asked.

They went silent for several seconds before Mom emitted an ear-shattering scream.

Without hesitation, I quickly stood and rushed to the door.

"Bridgette, what are you doing?! You can't go up there!" Courtney shouted.

"Guys…I can't hide from them anymore. I need to face them head-on." I took a deep breath and rushed upstairs.

As I approached the threshold to the living room, I watched as Mom began to throw stuff around in anger. Dad stood in a corner, quietly trembling. Alan kept his ground, though his legs began to shake.

"I can't _believe _you! You went behind my back! You've been talking to her all along, haven't you? Did I not specifically ban all contact with her?! You filthy…nasty…little…"

"Mom! Stop it right now!" I shouted. I stepped forward, entering the room. Mom caught sight of me and gasped. I'd never seen such cold anger in her eyes before.

"Look at you. Our lovely little mistake and her soon-to-be bastard children," Mom sneered. "You put him up to this, didn't you? What did you do, con him into taking your side? Did you promise him something in return? Are you trying to purposefully turn him against me?"

"Mom, he started talking to me on his own free will," I replied calmly, though my insides were practically sloshing around from nerves.

"I've had enough of this bullshit!" Mom screamed. "We're going home! Alan, you are in _so _much trouble it's not even funny!"

Mom started towards the door, with Dad meekly following behind. Alan, however, kept himself firmly planted where he was.

"Alan! I mean it! Get over here this _instant! _We're leaving!"

"No."

Alan folded his arms and shot Mom a menacing glare.

Mom gasped. "What did you just say to me?! Did you just tell me no?! I think I'm going to have to teach you a little _lesson _when we get home…you disrespectful piece of shit!"

Silence. Alan stood still, his eyes unfazed. Mom's breaths grew more and more shallow.

"Alan. I mean it…you better….get…over…here…NOW!"

"No!" Alan screamed, this time much louder. "I'm done with you and your bullshit!"

Mom's jaw dropped.

"Ever since Bridgette told you she was pregnant, you've been absolutely awful. And frankly, I won't tolerate it anymore!"

Mom turned to me, shooting me a death glare that could submit Satan himself into tears.

"Look at what you've done, Bridgette. You've torn our family apart. Are you proud of yourself? Are you happy that you managed to single-handedly ruin our _lives? _Tell me, Bridgette, how does it feel?!"

I stayed silent, trying my hardest to ignore her.

"She didn't tear this family apart! You did! This is all _your _fault!" Alan screamed.

Mom raised her eyebrows. "Oh yeah? Tell me, Alan. How did I 'tear this family apart'?"

Alan stepped closer to her. "You should have been supportive of her from the get-go! We _all _should have! You know what you did? You chased her away! You threw her out on her ass and left her to figure out things for herself! You should have been by her side every step of the way! But no, you were too ashamed to admit you had a pregnant daughter, that your 'perfect little family' wasn't so perfect after all! And then you go and try to put all of the blame on her, when in reality, the blame goes to _you _guys. She's gone through some hard times, and you guys should've been there for her. That's what you're supposed to do. That's what parents do. You support your kids, and you've failed!"

Mom stood still, seemingly unfazed from Alan's words. Dad shifted around uncomfortably.

Alan turned to Dad. "And you. You need to stand up to her. You need to take responsibility. I know you want to. I know underneath all of the fear Mom's instilled is somebody that cares about his daughter. Are you really going to let her keep stomping all over you?!"

Both Mom and Dad remained silent. Alan scooted himself over to me, putting his arm around me.

"I'm staying here with my sister. I love her and I support her. I want to do the right thing. If you guys want to saunter off and keep pretending she doesn't exist, then you guys can do that without me."

I nearly went dizzy from the shock of everything. Seeing my mom and the cold in her eyes was one thing, but seeing Alan stand up to them on my behalf took my breath away. He'd never been the type of person to do that, _ever. _Hell, we'd always fought before I got pregnant. We hated each other. He had really stepped up and matured far more than I'd ever seen any other fourteen-year-old do.

Mom rolled her eyes and turned to the door. "Whatever. Do what you want, Alan. I don't care anymore. Let's go, Jared."

As mom started to exit, Dad stood still.

"Jared! What are you doing? Let's go!"

"I want you out, Sharon," Dad muttered.

Mom snorted. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Alan's right. You've been terrorizing us for too long. I'm doing what I should have done a long time ago." Dad stepped next to me on the other side of Alan, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"Jared!"

"I mean it. Go home, pack your things, and get out."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"You can't just kick me out! No!" Mom shouted.

"I've had ENOUGH of you!" Dad shouted right back. "Pack your stuff and get out. The house is in my name. It's mine. You get out or I'm calling the cops."

Mom let out another ear-shattering scream and slammed the door behind her.

Dad turned to me and pulled me into a huge, warm embrace. "Oh Bridge, I am so sorry. I should have been here for you. I should have stood up to her a long time ago. I love you so much."

For the first time in a long time, I cried happy tears. I hugged Dad tighter. I'd missed them so much it wasn't even funny.

xxxxx

Despite Mom leaving the house, we all agreed that it would be best for me to stay at the Gibbs', due to the fact that they had prepared an adequate space for the twins and I. Dad offered to pay them a generous amount of money per month for allowing me to stay there, as well as reinstating my cell phone. Things seemed to be looking up.

But the problems I'd been facing earlier were still there. I'd been left alone to raise two kids. As much support as everybody was offering me, I knew at some point I needed to be able to provide for myself. That was the scariest thought. How would I attend university? Would I be able to find a job substantial enough to provide for two kids? Would I be able to support them on an emotional level?

The idea of adoption soon became a more viable option, and that made me sick to my stomach. I loved my girls more than anything. The last thing I'd want to do is give them away. I wanted to be there for them, give them as much love possible. But I had to let my mind overtake my heart. I knew I couldn't do it successfully.

A few weeks after the baby shower incident, Trent stopped by to see me, alone. I was a little confused, considering the tension between the two of us, but as soon as I saw his smile, I didn't care anymore.

"Hey."

I looked up, smiling softly. "Hey. What's up?"

Trent sat down onto the couch next to me. "Not much. I just wanted to see how you're doing. We haven't talked much lately."

I giggled. "What are you talking about? We all spend almost every weekend together."

"No. I mean…just you and me. How are you?"

The girls began to kick harder than normal. I smiled as I watched my stomach bounce around. It was actually kind of cute.

Trent eyed my stomach and laughed. "Wow. That's freaky. How much longer?"

My smile faded. "I'm at 30 weeks. They could come anytime between 35 and 37 weeks, since they're twins." I hated reminders that they were coming soon, especially with big decisions ahead of me.

"What's the problem?" Trent asked as he placed a hand on my stomach, feeling them kick.

"I might give them up for adoption."

Trent's eyes widened. "What? Why?!"

I sighed. "I just…I don't think I have the means to take care of them. I love them so much, and I would love nothing more than to have them in my life. But I'm scared I won't be able to give them the life they want; the life they deserve. And that kills me."

"Don't give them up!" Trent shouted matter-of-factly.

"And why not? Isn't that the best thing to do?"

Trent locked eyes with me, and my heart melted a bit. Even after everything that had happened, those eyes still managed to make me go weak in the knees.

"You can do it, Bridgette. You're gentle, caring, and you've pushed yourself through _so _much to make things work for them. You're going to give up?"

"I just…what if I can't provide for them? What if they end up growing up miserable?"

"I guarantee they won't, Bridgette. You may not have support from Geoff, but you've got support from all of your friends and family. Your daughters will feel so much love. They _will _grow up happy."

I sighed and looked down to my jumping belly.

"Bridgette, I'll do anything if it means you'll keep them. I want to see you happy. You deserve to be happy."

I looked up and smirked. "You think I'll look happy when I'm puckered out from taking care of them?"

Trent smiled. "Maybe your body won't, but I know your eyes will."

A comfortable silence filled the room. Trent slid his hand closer to mine.

"I think I might be falling in love with you, Bridgette," Trent murmured nervously.

I looked down at his hand and embraced it with my own.

"Are you sure? I'm a mess…and you still want me?" I laughed softly.

Trent nodded. "I'd at least love to give it a good try. No serious commitments. Let's just…fall in love."

A warm, tingly feeling took over my body, like nothing I'd ever let myself feel before around him.

"Okay."

We sat there for a couple of minutes, both of us blushing lightly, hearts pounding. Almost like a weird, twisted romance movie.

"Can I kiss you?" Trent asked nervously. The question sounded ridiculous, especially after everything that had been happening between the two of us.

I grabbed his wrist and pulled him into a kiss. And for the first time, I actually let myself enjoy it, guilt-free.

xxxxx

After everything that had been happening, I had been missing Maya more than anything. I was beginning to grow seriously worried. I'd only talked to her for a couple of minutes here and there in the past month. I hadn't heard anything from her in the past week. And for some reason, I hadn't had any shifts with her in a long time.

My gut pretty much had it figured out. But I didn't want to admit it to myself.

I finally asked Andrea one day at work.

"Hey, Andrea! Where has Maya been? I haven't seen her in ages."

Andrea glanced to the floor, frowning and fighting back tears. My heart sank.

"Bridgette…I was just about to tell you…"

"What? What happened?! Is she okay?" I shouted.

Andrea closed her eyes and took a deep breath, a couple of tears slipping through. "I don't know if you know this, Bridgette, but Maya had been fighting breast cancer for the past five years. She had gone into remission for a while…but the cancer came back, and this time she wasn't…she couldn't…" Andrea choked up.

"She's gone," I murmured.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: We're reaching the end! There's going to be one more chapter (well, epilogue) after this. So stay tuned!**

**Thank you to all of the support you guys have given this story. It's been a lot of fun to write. **

**Enjoy!**

**xxxxxx**

Those next few weeks became some of the hardest in my life.

Everything that had happened over the course of my pregnancy flooded my mind. It'd been 35 weeks of agonizing pain and hardship. That was the scary thing: that despite being pregnant, the rest of my life had to keep going. They always made it seem like being pregnant was some sort of ticket to being lazy or distant or inattentive to real life, when in reality, it just added to the hardships. It had created problems in my life that no teenager should _ever _have to deal with.

More importantly, I realized that I could go into labor at any moment. My doctor had told me that multiple pregnancies only lasted between 34 and 37 weeks in most cases. As much as I was ready to push them out and be done with pregnancy, I was scared. I was scared of becoming a parent. The reality still hadn't quite hit me yet.

However, the worst part was that, the reality of it all hit suddenly, while on a date with Trent one night.

xxxxx

Trent smiled warmly and held my hand before taking a small sip of Coke.

"Bridgette, you look beautiful tonight."

I gawked. "What are you talking about? I'm a fat whale! I'm surprised you even want to be seen in public with me. Don't you think people find it weird you're dating a pregnant girl?"

Trent laughed. "I don't think it's weird at all. You're not just 'a pregnant girl'; you're Bridgette!" Trent paused, his face falling. "Why, do _you _think it's weird?"

I shook my head. "I'm honestly just surprised that somebody would want to be with me after everything that's happened. And I guess it's kind of weird to be going on a casual date like this when I'm practically a new mother. It feels so…teenager-y."

Trent's face softened. "You're not a mother _yet_. You deserve to feel young a couple more times before the twins come. Especially after everything you've been through."

Our relationship worried me. It was weird to think I'd be in a casual relationship with two babies on the way. It'd be weird to expect him to play a sort of father figure, but it would also be weird for him not to, for us to be dating like a couple of teenagers.

Tears started to well up in my eyes. "Trent, are you still going to be around once I give birth? I mean, won't it be weird to be dating a single mother? Won't that feel like…you're obligated to be some sort of father?"

"Hey, look. I'll be in their lives no matter what, relationship or not. Behind our newfound romance, we're best friends. It'll be just like Courtney or Zooey. Whether or not I become any sort of arbitrary father figure can be up to the twins later in life." Trent smiled warmly, and I felt tingles go through my body.

Suddenly, another small shock of pain hit my lower abdomen. My eye twitched.

Trent widened his eyes. "Are you okay? What's happening?"

I took a deep breath. "Nothing. I'm just getting these weird cramps is all."

"You don't think-"

I felt a warm gush of liquid gush into my underwear. I shrieked.

"Bridgette? What's happening?!"

The liquid kept trickling and trickling. It smelled strongly of bleach, to the point that I started to cough and gag.

"I-I think my water just broke!" I shouted.

Suddenly, it became clear to me: those "cramps" were contractions. I'd expected them to be a lot more painful, which made me disregard them before. Oops.

I was going into labor.

Trent's jaw dropped, and he slammed his fork down and stood up.

"Shit! We have to get you to the hospital, don't we? Waiter! Check please! Stat!"

By now, Trent had caused such a scene that most of the restaurant had been silent, watching the two of us.

I grabbed his wrist and guided him back to his seat. "Trent, it's okay. We need to go home, pack some things up, and call the hospital to schedule a C-section."

Trent took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's do that, then."

The waiter stopped by our table and smiled. "Dinner tonight is on the house. Good luck and congratulations, miss."

We wasted no time leaving the restaurant and jetted straight for the car. Well, Trent jetted. I kind of just waddled.

"I don't get it! I'm not supposed to go into labor for another week! That's when my C-section is scheduled!" I shouted as I hopped into the car. I sent a quick "water broke" text to Courtney and Zooey so they would know what was going on.

Trent started the engine, muttering "oh my god" several times.

"Trent, relax! It's no big rush. I just have to hurry and have the C-section performed before my body starts to try and deliver the twins naturally," I stated as I dialed the hospital.

A young woman picked up. "Hello, Vancouver General Hospital, this is Megan."

"Hi! My name is Bridgette Fields. I had a C-section scheduled for next week but I've already started to go into labor. I'm having mild contractions and my water just broke. My doctor says it's dangerous to go too far into the labor process since I am pregnant with single-sac twins. Can I schedule a C-section for some time within the next couple of hours?"

"Hours?" mouthed Trent. I nodded.

"We'll want you in as soon as possible, Ms. Fields. We'll get a room ready for you right now," the woman replied.

"Great, thank you." I hung up the phone and sighed.

"I don't get it," Trent muttered. "How are you so calm about all of this? Shouldn't we be panicking?"

I snorted. "I'm early into the labor process. With a natural birthing process I would still have potentially another 24 to 48 hours before true labor began." I was beginning to sound like a textbook. I guess it was a good thing; at least I'd paid attention.

"So why are you getting a C-section? Why not just continue with labor like normal?" Trent's eyes were peeled on the road, his arms shaking a bit.

"I have to. My twins share a single sac, which would cause way too many complications if I tried to give birth to them naturally."

Trent nodded, not quite understanding.

I felt an intense pang in my stomach as we drove past the mall. More than anything in the world, I wanted Maya here. I wanted her to hold my hand and tell me everything was going to be okay.

I looked up to the sky, hoping that maybe I'd find some sort of sign from her that she was watching over me, that everything would be okay.

"Maya, I wish you were here so badly. I miss you," I muttered quietly to myself.

xxxxx

By the time we'd gotten home, Courtney had already packed bags for me. She was pacing around the room, breathing frantically. Zooey was sitting on my bed, frozen.

Courtney spotted me and stopped, exhaling in relief.

"Oh my GOD Bridgette! It's happening! I can't believe it's happening!" Courtney shouted.

Another contraction hit, this time a little stronger. I fell onto the couch, grabbing my stomach.

Zooey jumped up. "Bridgette! Are you okay!"

I winced. "Just a contraction. Courtney, where's your mom? And can you call my dad?"

Zooey pulled her phone from her pocket. "I'll call your dad, Bridge. Courtney, call your mom!"

The contractions started to speed up and were becoming stronger and stronger, to the point that all I could do was lay on the couch, holding my stomach and groaning rather loudly.

Trent sat by my side, holding my hand. "It's going to be okay, Bridge. Just keep breathing deeply. We're going to get to the hospital soon."

Courtney threw her phone into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Mom and Dad are going to meet us at the hospital. We better head out."

I peeked my head up to Zooey, who nodded and hung up the phone. "Your dad's going to be there as soon as he can."

Trent helped me up off the couch, holding my hand as I waddled towards the door. "Let's hurry on over there, then, before it's too late."

xxxxx

Once I'd gotten to the hospital, they'd stripped me out of my normal clothing and into a hospital gown. They'd stuck me in a wheelchair, since the contractions had gotten so painful that I could barely walk, and wheeled me off to a small room, leaving Courtney, Zooey, and Trent outside momentarily.

Once I was there, they hooked me up to an IV and placed several monitors throughout my lower body, particularly one to measure the girls' heartbeats.

The physician's assistant, Dr. Hargrave, smiled at me as he finished hooking up the various wires.

"Everything looks good so far, Ms. Fields. Dr. Morrison and her team will be in here with you shortly." He quickly jotted off, leaving me alone in the room.

A few moments later, I heard a knock on the door. I figured it was the doctor at first, but the knock kept going and going.

"Uh, come in?"

To my utter surprise, Geoff entered, smiling meekly.

I shook my head and blinked several times. I had to be seeing things. There was no way he would just appear out of nowhere and-

"Bridgette, I need you to hear me out. Please."

My thoughts were cut off. I felt as if I were going delusional.

"Geoff? What are you doing? Is that really you, or am I just imagining things?"

I kept blinking and blinking, but he was still there. Maybe I wasn't imagining things.

"I'd been in town already. I was staying at a hotel. I'd plan to visit you tomorrow and talk to you…but then this happened."

"Talk to me? About what?"

Geoff began to cry; something I'd never seen before. "Bridgette, I fucked up so badly it's not even funny."

"Geoff what are you even doing here? You jetted off on me, remember? I-"

Geoff quickly cut me off. "You were right, Bridgette. We don't get to be teenagers anymore. Those girls are just as much mine as they are yours. I came here because it's time for me to be an adult, and take responsibility. You're right, we _do _need to both be in their lives. I want to work together. You and me. We can be friends and maybe best friends one day. Because you _were _right. We can be their parents without being together or forcing ourselves to try and keep a spark that isn't there. I want that opportunity. I want to be the father they deserve."

I could barely believe what I was hearing. I was in shock.

"We can figure out the logistics later, I promise. Just give me another chance."

Tears streamed down my face, and relief rushed through my body. Hearing Geoff finally come around made things feel so much better.

I looked up to the sky (well, the ceiling) and smiled. I hoped that Maya had maybe mentally slapped Geoff in the head. Maybe she snuck into his subconscious and convinced him to shape up. It was a very Maya thing to do. It all sounded silly, of course, but I didn't let that stop me.

"Oh Maya, I wish you were here," I whispered.

Geoff cocked his head. "Uh, what?"

I shook my head and blinked. "Sorry. Just talking to myself."  
Geoff exhaled. "Well could you say _something_? Please don't just leave me hanging!"

More tears. I nodded. "Let's make this work."

Geoff leaned in for a quick hug and gave me a kiss on the forehead.

Courtney, Zooey, and Trent entered the room, smiling.

"Everybody's here, Bridgette!" Zooey exclaimed. "Courtney's parents, your dad, Alan, Geoff's parents, and of course, the four of us." Zooey looked to Geoff and smiled.

I turned to Geoff. "How did you even know I was going into labor?"

Courtney snickered. "A little _birdie _told him to hurry over, and that he had one last chance to step up to the plate. And he did, thank God!"

Dr. Morrison and her team busted through the door, carrying several carts of medical equipment. The anesthesiologist went right to work, pulling out a small needle connected to a large vat.

"We're going to give you localized anesthesia through your lower back, onto the lower half of your spine. Could you please turn to your side, Ms. Fields?"

I turned myself over and felt a sharp prick onto my backside. I let out a little squeal from the pain.

The anesthesiologist turned me back over, and, after a few seconds, started poking at my lower abdomen.

"Can you feel my hand, Ms. Fields?" I shook my head. "Great, Dr. Morrison will be proceeding with the Caesarian procedure shortly.

Dr. Morrison, who had been examining my uterus, stepped next to me, grabbing my hand and smiling.

"The girls are ready to come out! Are you excited, Bridgette?"

I smiled weakly. "More like nervous!"

"Would you like anybody in particular to wait by your side while we perform the procedure?"

I looked to Courtney, Zooey, Trent, and Geoff.

"I just want the four of them here. They're my biggest support system."

Dr. Morrison grinned. "That sounds great. If you guys want to hold her hand, stroke her hair, just provide her with general comfort? Maybe take a peek every now and again and let her know how things are going?"

xxxxx

Thirty minutes in, the process had become long and super uncomfortable. Though I couldn't feel anything, I could hear plenty of drilling and lots and lots of gross, squishy sounds.

I'd become very sweaty and panicked. Trent and Courtney were each holding a hand, Geoff was stroking my hair, and Zooey, standing in the background, was watching the process unfold, keeping me informed.

Zooey made a gross face, coming close to gagging.

I jolted up. "What? What's wrong, Zooey?!"

Zooey shook her head and blinked. "Nothing. It's just starting to get a little bloody and gross, that's all."

Courtney shushed me and leaned me back down. "You need to stay still, Bridge. It's going to be okay!"

I sighed, closing my eyes. "This is just so weird. This isn't quite what I expected when giving birth. I expected lots of screaming, and…pushing I guess."

Trent laughed. "That's true. This isn't really the traditional birthing process, that's for sure."

I burst into a fit of giggles. The meds had me a little giggly. "I don't think there's anything traditional about this family at all!"

Geoff smiled. "Doesn't make us any less of a family. We're all in this together."

Zooey grinned, twirling her hair. "That's so sweet. A sensitive family man. I love sensitive boys!" Zooey winked.

Geoff stood up and stepped next to her. "Hey. You're not too bad yourself, you know. I love the whole bright and bubbly thing. Totally my kind of thing!"

Zooey blushed. "Hey. If you end up moving here, which you probably will…do you want to see a movie or go to dinner or something?"

I pulled my hair tie out of my hair and flung it at Zooey, to which the doctors shouted for me to stay still.

"I can't believe you're trying to flirt while I'm giving birth!" I shouted. Zooey shrugged and giggled.

Suddenly, I felt something being ripped from within me. I screamed from the sensation, to which Trent squeezed my hand, calming me.

Dr. Morrison lifted one of the girls in the air briefly. "We've got one healthy baby girl!" The baby was quickly whisked off in order to get her cleaned off and to inspect for any health complications.

My heart swelled upon seeing one of the girls. I couldn't believe it. That was _my _daughter.

"We're close…almost there…" Dr. Morrison shouted before pulling out baby number two. They lifted her into the air briefly before whisking her off, as well.

"Congratulations, Bridgette, you've got two healthy baby girls!" Dr. Morrison exclaimed. "Let us patch everything up, and we'll get you to the recovery room ASAP.

xxxxx

I felt very sore and fatigued after they had finished the procedure. The Baby Patrol had come to sit with me in the recovery room, thank god.

"Do you feel okay, Bridgette?" Courtney asked, running her hand through my hair.

I nodded. "I just want to see the girls, more than anything."

"They're going to bring them in soon. Don't worry!"

There was a brief knock on the door, followed by Ms. Gibbs stepping into the room, grinning. The rest of the crowd followed, leaving the room slightly cramped. Most of them were in tears.

"Oh Bridgette, I am so proud of you!" Ms. Gibbs exclaimed as held Mr. Gibbs' hand.

A couple of assistants entered, carrying the two girls; one wrapped in a pink blanket, and one wrapped in a purple blanket. Both girls were wearing little white hats on the top of their heads.

"Congratulations, Ms. Fields. You have two healthy baby girls."

Both of the girls were set onto my chest, where I was able to kiss them and hold them for the first time.

The feeling of holding the girls for the first time was astounding. A rush of euphoria filled my body. I gave each of them a little kiss on the head.

"Hello, girls. I'm so happy to meet you," I muttered softly, crying.

Geoff was next to see them. I handed the baby in pink to him, where he was able to kiss and hold her while I cuddled with the baby in purple.

Alan and Dad stepped forward first. Dad gave me a kiss on the forehead. Alan kept his distance, preferring to watch the action from afar. He was probably grossed out at everything.

"I'm an uncle! This is awesome! Bridge I'm so happy for you!" Alan shouted.

"They really are beautiful," Dad added. He took a closer look at purple baby and grinned. "She already looks a lot like you!"

The Ruperts, Zooey, and the Gibbs gathered around Geoff, cooing and smiling around pink baby, while Courtney, Trent, Dad, and Alan stayed around me and purple baby.

Another doctor entered the room, carrying a folder full of paperwork.

"Mr. Rupert, or whomever will be assuming paternity, could you please come and fill out this paperwork?"

Geoff nodded, handing pink baby to Zooey, who placed her back onto my chest.

While Geoff finished up paperwork, the peanut gallery took seats in various places, except for Zooey, Trent, and Courtney, who continued to hold my hand and stroke my hair.

"How does it feel, Bridge? How do _you _feel?" Zooey asked.

I couldn't really describe it. I was overcome with joy, to say the least.

"It feels…absolutely amazing."

In that moment, all of the weeks of agony, pain, and suffering just didn't seem to matter anymore, because, as I looked around the room, I realized just how lucky I was. I had so many people who stood by my side no matter what had happened. I had a family, traditional or not. For a moment, everything felt like it had finally fallen into place.

I looked back down at my two baby girls. Seeing their sweet, innocent faces made all of the trouble worth it. I was a mother, and I was damn proud of it.

Trent continued to hold my hand, giving me kisses every now and then. Courtney had stepped aside to assist with paperwork. Well, more like push Geoff aside and finish it herself. Typical Courtney. Zooey and Geoff were giggling towards each other, holding hands. Geoff even went so far as to plant a kiss on her cheek. Everything seemed right in the world.

"Okay, the last thing we need is names. Mom? Dad?" the doctor asked.

Geoff picked up pink baby off of my chest, cuddling her. "This one is going to be Ava Grace."

The doctor scribbled the name down. "Fields-Rupert is the chosen last name, correct?"

"Yes sir."

Everybody looked to me as I held purple baby.

"As for the other twin?" the doctor asked.

I smiled. The perfect name had finally fallen into place.

"Maya. Maya Hope."


	16. Epilogue

**A/N: I really hope you guys enjoyed this story. I tried to use this epilogue to give a more subtle insight to what their life looks like through the later years. If you guys think it's weird or don't like it then I understand.**

**I would absolutely LOVE to write a sequel if enough of you ask me too! But I'd also be taking some time to focus on other stories too! **

**Anyways, enjoy, and thank you all for the support.**

**xxxxxxx**

18_ years later_

"Hello. My name is Ava Fields-Rupert and I am proud to be selected as this year's valedictorian for McKellen High School."

I shook my head. That sounded totally ridiculous. I wasn't selected. I worked for it.

I continued on anyways, pacing around my room frantically as I read off of the paper in front of me.

"This thirteen-year journey that all of us have taken was not an easy one. It must be such a relief to see all of our hard work pay off as we walk across the stage and receive our diplomas."

I groaned, threw my paper aside, and jumped onto my bed, eventually groaning into my pillow. I had been working on this speech for three weeks, and I just couldn't seem to get it quite right.

I heard a chuckle coming from my doorway. I looked up to see Maya leaning against the threshold, sucking on a lollipop and laughing incessantly.

"Jesus Christ Ava. You're not seriously still working on that stupid speech are you?"

I threw my pillow at her, which she dodged by stepping further into the room, taking a seat on my desk chair.

"So what if I am?" I replied defensively. "I want it to be perfect! Everything I've written so far just sounds awful."

Maya rolled her eyes. "It's not that big of a deal. It's not like you're giving a speech in front of the whole country or something. It's just a valedictorian speech. Nobody's even going to remember after about a week or so."

"Maya! I'm giving this speech in front of over 7,000 people!" I fell back onto my bed, sighing.

Maya shrugged. "So? I've done bigger."

I scoffed. "Oh shut up, miss theatre major."

Maya pulled her lollipop out of her mouth dramatically before pointing it towards me.

"Hey now. I'm not a theatre major _yet_."

It was kind of funny. Despite the fact that we were identical twins, our personalities were totally different. Maya was the outgoing, vibrant one. She was quite the character sometimes, and she sure knew how to entertain a crowd. She was the one always going out to places, hanging out with friends (when she didn't have theatre rehearsals, that is). I was the quiet one. I wasn't very good at socializing, though I had gotten a little better at it towards the end of high school. I was the one that spent my time reading, writing, or playing my piano. I liked to keep to myself. Don't get me wrong, though. We still had a _lot _in common. We liked a lot of the same things: clothes, TV shows, music, boys (which caused problems sometimes). We had a lot of mutual friends, too.

Maya picked up my crumpled speech off of the floor, read it, and threw it back on the floor, laughing.

"Ava, this speech has the personality of a piece of bread. You sound so fake!"

"Well what was I supposed to do? I don't know how to write a better speech. It feels like I'm writing an essay or something."

Maya rolled her eyes. "You mean to tell me that you got a five on your AP English test, and yet you can't write a simple speech? Give me a break."

Silence. I burst into a fit of giggles.

"Maybe you should give the speech for me!"

Maya's face softened, and she joined me in the giggling. "Dear god, don't you remember that one time in seventh grade when we switched places so you could take that math test for me? Mom grounded us for like a month!"

"How did they even figure it out, anyways?"

Maya snorted. "They saw you start to write 'Ava' on top of the paper, before erasing it and writing 'Maya' instead."

I sighed. "Well unfortunately I don't think we'd be able to switch anymore. I think people would figure it out pretty easily."

When Maya and I were growing up, we looked exactly the same. Same haircuts, similar clothing, and of course, the mere fact that we were identical twins. Mom resorted to making us wear different colored shoes so that people could tell us apart. I had to wear pink, Maya had to wear purple. I still couldn't quite figure out why she made us wear those colors specifically. I hated pink.

Of course, things had changed since we'd gotten older. Maya's hair was cut into a short, edgy bob, with teal streaks framing her face, while mine was much longer and usually pulled back into a ponytail. Though our fashion tastes were similar, she usually dressed in bolder outfits, while my appearance was a little more laid back.

Maya stood up and headed towards the door. "Well. Let me know if you actually get something written down, and I'll help you out from there."

xxxxx

After a couple of hours, I snuck downstairs to grab a quick snack before getting back to work on my speech. Mom must've seen the distress on my face, though, because she stopped me before I could get back upstairs.

"Ava, sweetie, what's the matter?" Mom asked as she folded her arms.

I groaned. "I'm having a little trouble with my speech."

Trent burst out into laughter from the couch, where he and my little brother Trevor were watching some dorky sitcom.

"Ava! You're making it too hard on yourself! The one you had originally written was just fine!" Trent replied.

Trevor scoffed and grabbed the remote from Trent, turning the TV up louder. "Dad, I'm trying to watch TV! Be quiet!" At nine years old, Trevor could be quite the little bugger sometimes.

"I'm having a crisis here, Trevor! You could at least pretend to care!" I shouted back. Trevor rolled his eyes.

Mom patted my shoulder, chuckling softly. "Trent's right, sweetheart. You're really making this harder than it should be. There was nothing wrong with the first speech you wrote. Just use that one!"

"I don't want to use that one, Mom. It sucked!"

Maya came dashing down the stairs, digging through her bag to find her keys.

"Hey, Mom. Dad and Zooey are having a barbeque tonight. Want to come?" Maya asked, jingling the keys as she pulled them from her bag.

Mom raised her eyebrows. "He's having a barbeque? Aren't we all going for a big dinner tomorrow night at the Tracey Grill?"

"Oh no. It's just a little get together. His friend Mark is visiting from Westerberg for our graduation."

Trevor jumped up from the couch, racing to the staircase, standing next to Maya.

"Is Cammie going to be there?" Trevor asked, grinning.

Maya rolled her eyes and snickered. "Uh, duh. She _lives _there."

It was kind of weird how much Trevor obsessed over our little sister Cammie, who was seven. The two were practically inseparable. They weren't actually related to each other whatsoever; Trevor was Mom and Trent's, while Cammie was Dad and Zooey's. Mom and Dad would sometimes joke about the two of them getting married one day. They thought it would be the cutest thing ever. I thought it would qualify our family for the Jerry Springer Show.

Mom eyed me, smiling. "Ava, I think you should go. You could really use it! Go and let yourself have some fun for once!"

As much as I wanted to kick back, I knew the guilt of not finishing my speech would creep in at _some _point. I shook my head.

Maya turned to Mom once again. "Are you guys going to come or not?"

Mom looked to Trent, who winked towards Mom.

"I think your Mom and I are going to enjoy a little _alone _time."

Maya, Trevor, and I simultaneously gagged.

"On second thought, I think I'll go ahead and go. Let me grab my bag," I replied as I quickly dashed upstairs.

I pulled my phone off of my nightstand and sent a quick text to my best friend, Eric, telling him to meet me at Dad's house. If I was going to have fun, I certainly didn't want to do it alone.

xxxxx

"Hey girls! You need to clean your rooms! We want the house to be clean for when Nana and Papa drive in tomorrow!" Zooey shouted as we entered the house.

"It's so not fair! You guys get two whole bedrooms!" Trevor whined.

Maya sighed. "Well think of it this way: it's two whole bedrooms that you have to keep clean. I'll be back in a few minutes!" Maya disappeared into the hallway.

Even though Mom had primary custody of us, we were still at Dad's a good amount of the time. Dad and Zooey only lived a short drive from us (well, you _could _walk, but we were lazy). The original schedule when we were younger was that we spent weekdays with Mom and weekends with Dad, but at this point Maya and I freely switched back and forth.

I shrugged. "I already cleaned mine a couple of days ago."

Zooey's face softened into a small smile. "I believe you, miss valedictorian!"

Cammie came rushing out of the hallway and tackled Trevor to the ground, grinning from ear to ear.

"Trevor!"

"Cammie!"

"Hello, Cammie!" I waved. She turned her head briefly towards me and then back to Trevor.

"Oh. Hi Ava," she muttered unexcitedly.

Gee, thanks.

Dad called me out to the porch, where he was drinking a beer with Mark, chuckling over something.

"Hey Ava! You want a beer?" Dad asked between laughs.

I shook my head. "You know I'm not really a drinker, Dad. Though I guess I could use one in this case." I grabbed one out of the ice chest and popped it open, trying not to gag as I took a sip.

"Woah! Hey, what's the problem?" Dad wrapped his arm around me, rubbing my arm.

I leaned into him. "I'm still working on that stupid speech!"

Mark leaned forward in his chair, clapping his hands together. "Ah yeah! Your dad told me that you were valedictorian! Congratulations Ava! You must've worked really hard. Unlike your slacker of a father here!" Dad rolled his eyes as Mark burst into a fit of laughter.

"Hey now!" Dad shouted back as he playfully shoved Mark. "I wasn't _that _bad!"

I giggled slightly. It was always funny when people made fun of Dad's party days.

Mark could barely talk between laughter. "Are you kidding me? Ava, before you and your sister were born, your father was the biggest slacker known to man! He never did any schoolwork. He just partied all of the time."

"Yes, but he shaped up _very _quickly once he knew that Bridgette was expecting the two of you. Right, sweetheart?" Zooey replied as she stepped out onto the porch, taking a seat next to Dad. "He showed everybody that he has a deep, caring side to him. And that's why I fell in love with him." Zooey planted a kiss on his cheek. "Oh by the way, Ava, Eric's here. He's inside."

"Mom told me that you asked him out when she was in labor with Maya and I! Maybe you don't always have the _best _judgment," I joked as I stood to walk back inside.

xxxxx

After an hour or so, Eric and I retreated from socializing with the family and hid in my room. We sprawled ourselves out on the floor, eating our plates of barbeque.

"I can't tell who's crazier at this point: your dad or your stepmom!" Eric pointed out between bites of a rib.

I nodded. "They're so perfect for each other, aren't they?"

"Yeah…" Eric trailed off before sitting up, his shaggy brown hair falling into his eyes. I sat up next to him, eyeing the all-too familiar scars on his arm as he set it next to me. "You know, you're so lucky to have a family like this."

I leaned onto Eric's shoulder, grabbing onto his hand. "Hey. This is your family now. We've been your family for a long time."

A tear started to fall from Eric's eye, which he quickly wiped away. "I know. But you can't erase the past. I can't change my biological family."

I hugged him closer to me. "Well then you haven't been around this family long enough. We managed to completely redefine the word 'family'. Blood doesn't matter. Love does."

I always felt terrible when conversation like this happened. Eric had been through some rough times; he grew up in a very abusive, rocky household. When we'd first met in the sixth grade, I had no idea, but as the two of us grew closer, both me and my family started to notice something wasn't right. When we finally had sufficient evidence, we fought long and hard in court; particularly my Aunt Courtney (who, ironically, isn't biologically my aunt), who could pretty much out-argue anybody and had taken a passion towards the case. She finally won custody of him when we were sixteen. It hadn't been easy for him. He slipped through the cracks and managed to get himself into serious trouble a couple of times. But one thing never changed: I made damn sure never to leave his side.

It wasn't all bad, of course. Mom and Dad were both very welcoming of him, especially since Mom's biological mother was supposedly pretty crazy too. The two of us had a lot of good times together, and he was truly somebody that I could trust my life with.

"I just…I guess I'm jealous. It's going to hurt seeing you walk across the stage later this week. You were successful. You made good grades. You're going to a great school. Look at me! I barely passed. I'm having to start at the community college in any hopes that I can actually get a degree. I feel like I can never live up to you."

"What are you talking about?! Look what you've overcome! You had so much to deal with growing up. You had some of the hardest circumstances to overcome and guess what? You did! You managed to pull yourself out of the dirt and completely transform yourself. All I did was make a few good grades. You did so much more."

Eric sighed. "They don't ever give you any awards for that, though."

And then, like magic, the perfect valedictorian speech fell into place.

xxxxx

For most people, having dinner with your family is supposed to be some sort of big event. However, we were all so close already that nothing really felt out of the ordinary when we met for dinner that next night.

The only people there that I didn't see regularly were Nana and Papa, my grandparents on Dad's side, who still lived in Westerberg. We still saw them often, though, so even that wasn't too big of a deal. Being around them was always the same thing: they would first comment about how much Maya and I look like Mom.

"It's like Geoff hardly put any work into you guys. Oh wait, he didn't. Well, not at first."

Then they would make some sort of remark about Maya's hair, and how she needs to stop cutting it and dyeing it all sorts of crazy colors, which would eventually fade into the usual grandparent conversation starters about school and friends and other rated-G topics. At that point, Grandma Ana usually pulls me and Maya to the side and promises that we can do something more fun once they leave.

Uncle Alan comes strolling in afterwards, carrying his new Girlfriend of the Week around his arm. I think her name was Ashley or something. Who knows.

My Grandpa Richard and my Grandpa Jared (who was my biological grandfather) come next, chuckling about something that happened at the golf course, where they liked to play with their circle of buddies.

Admittedly, though, the conversation that night was more interesting than usual. Mom started telling stories from when she was pregnant with Maya and I; something that almost never happens. She told us how, at one point, Zooey and Trent were dating, which I couldn't really believe. Aunt Courtney went on about how Zooey started calling themselves the "Baby Patrol". Grandma Ana tells the story of how Mom's pants busted open in front of Grandpa Richard, my personal favorite from the night. Dad talked about how both him and Mom had god-awful jobs. The conversation got deeper, of course. Mom thanked Grandma Ana and Grandpa Richard for the support they showed her during her pregnancy, as well as thanking Uncle Alan for being there for her, and to Grandpa Jared for standing up to Mom's mother. It all ended with all of the adults tearing up, commenting about how much we've grown and how proud they are of us and each other.

As much as Maya and Eric were bored of the conversation (Trevor and Cammie were off in their own world), I felt deeply inspired by it. It made writing my speech that much easier.

xxxxx

The car ride to Maya and I's graduation was one of the biggest emotional roller coasters of my life. Mixed feelings of joy, pride, sadness, and fear practically flooded the car.

I was more nervous than anything; I'd written a speech. I really loved it: it was something a little more genuine. I was scared that nobody would like it, or that I'd get in trouble for it, though. It had deviated away from the traditional idea, that's for sure.

I looked to Maya, who was sitting next to me, and a pang of sadness shot me. Maya was going off to New York to a very prestigious fine arts university. I was going to a pretty nice school, too, but mine was only about a forty-five minute drive out from home. I'd still be able to see my family regularly, but not being able to see Maya would kill me.

"Maya, do you have to go all the way to New York this fall?" I muttered quietly. Maya turned her head away from the window, giving me a sad smile.

"I know, Ava. It's going to be hard. I'm going to miss you, too."

"Why do you want to go so far away and leave all of us behind?"

"It's not that I'm leaving you guys behind. I'm just jumping at the opportunity. I won't be _completely _gone. You guys will be able to call me or Skype me and I'll be home for all of the holidays." Maya's face softened. "Besides, you're going to have so much fun that you'll barely even notice. But let's not worry about that tonight. Let's worry about your valedictorian speech. Are you excited? Nervous?"

All I could do was nod.

xxxxx

Sitting in the auditorium waiting for graduation to get started was probably the most nerve-wracking thing in my life. My speech was the opening to the entire ceremony. I was really scared nobody would like it. How embarrassing would that be?

As all of the graduates and audience members began to fill their chairs, one of the officials pulled me to the side.

"Miss Fields-"

"Fields-Rupert," I corrected him.

"Yes. We need you to start heading backstage. You're on in five minutes." It felt like I was about to go on TV.

I started to head towards the back door when Eric stopped me, pulling me aside.

"Eric! What are you doing? Let go!" I shouted, trying to loosen my gown from his grip.

"Ava, there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

I scoffed. "Can't you text it to me later? I have to head backstage!"

Eric started to blush. I felt my face soften, and I freed my hand from his grip only to place it onto his shoulder.

"Eric. What's the matter?" I muttered softly.

We locked eyes.

"Ava. I just think you should know that…well. I've been in love with you since…well, probably since the day I met you, to be honest."

I was frozen in shock. Well, I expected to feel shock, anyways. I didn't. It felt like nothing out of the ordinary. It felt like…well, it felt like it made sense.

He started to ramble, presumably out of nerves. "It's just…when I'm around you, it's like…everything feels right. Like…nothing else in the world matters as long as you're there. And I've wanted to tell you so badly for so long, because I was scared I could ruin things if-"

Instinct overtook my body as I cut him off with a long, passionate kiss. The kiss felt so incredible; like nothing I'd ever felt before. For a moment, everything just felt so perfect.

I pulled away, smiling. "Eric…I think I've loved you back this whole time."

The moment was cut off when the same official stormed back out from backstage.

"Miss! We need you back here _ASAP!"_

Eric smiled as he returned to his seat. As I headed towards the backstage area, I caught Maya in the corner of my eye, mouthing "I knew it!" to me all excitedly. I guess she'd seen us kiss.

"Welcome, friends and family, and congratulations to this year's graduates of McKellen High School." The pre-recorded message blared throughout the auditorium. "To start the ceremony tonight, please welcome our valedictorian Ava Fields-Rupert!"

Applause practically attacked me as I nervously treaded onto the stage, setting my speech behind the podium and clearing my throat.

I took a second to evaluate the audience. There were a _ton _of people out there, which made things so much worse. Feeling 7,000 pairs of eyes on you isn't exactly ideal.

"Hello, everybody. My name is Ava Fields-Rupert and I am proud to be this year's valedictorian," I started before pausing. The rest of the speech could have potentially been a train wreck.

I took a deep breath and did my best to swallow back the nerves.

"Each and every one of you out there is probably looking at me and thinking to yourselves that _this_ is what success looks like. The girl who works hard through school, goes onto a great college, makes a lot of money, and so forth. Yes, I did work hard through school, and it is very flattering that those of you here tonight are willing to honor me for that. But, as I look around my friends and family, I quickly realize that this success is not the only sort of success there is, and that it comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes."

The auditorium stayed silent, thank God.

I turned to Maya, who was smiling in the audience. I pointed towards her general direction.

"Take my twin sister Maya, for example. After years and years of hard work within the fine arts department, mixed with her exceptional talent of course, she's been accepted into one of the best fine arts schools in the _world_. I'm already ready for the day that she becomes so famous that people bombard _me _in the streets because they've got the two of us confused. I'll be so proud."

The audience chuckled, including Maya, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Or look at my best friend Eric. He grew up in a very unstable household. He's had to overcome severe depression, substance dependencies, physical and mental abuse, and much more. The mere fact that he made it here tonight, that he's able to walk across this stage and continue on to bigger and better things, is a huge feat. He's battled through things most of us couldn't even fathom, and I couldn't be more proud of him."

Eric smiled and blushed.

I scanned for the rest of my family in the crowd, keeping my eyes on them as I finished my speech.

"Then there's my mom, who, at just sixteen years old, found out she was pregnant with my sister and I. She fought through hell in order to try to give us a great life: she was kicked out of her house, stuck working a rigorous part-time job on top of school, and finding a solid support system for the two of us. She jumped through hoops and she most certainly came through. And there's my dad, who completely abandoned his old life in order to be here for Maya and I, in a situation where most sixteen-year-old guys would've completely bailed."

I looked to Mom and Dad, who smiled and leaned in towards each other. I turned my focus to Grandma Ana, Grandpa Richard, and Aunt Courtney.

"Then there's my grandma, grandpa, and Aunt Courtney, who took my mother in and went through leaps and bounds to make sure she could provide the best future for my sister and I. Despite the fact that they aren't my biological family, they have been an exceptional support system from the time I was born. After legally adopting Eric a couple of years ago, I truly realized their success in giving people futures that were never thought possible."

I turned to Trent and Zooey.

"And then there's my stepdad Trent and my stepmom Zooey. Even though neither are my biological parents, they have played a huge parental role in my life from an early age. They found ways to support Maya and I while simultaneously following their own dreams: Trent ended up starting a successful indie record label while Zooey opened her own bakery. They showed me that it was possible to achieve all of your dreams, new ones and old ones alike."

I turned my attention back to the graduates. "I look at each and every one of you tonight, and I realize that each of you has your own story. Each one of you has overcome obstacles, fought challenges, and worked hard in your own ways. I want everybody in that audience to remember that. Success is not found solely in a grade point average, or in wealth, or in status. Success is overcoming what life throws at us. Success is overcoming our own individual challenges and going after our own dreams. So yes, I am successful, but I'm only one example of success. Each and every one of you is your own success story, and I want everybody in my graduating class to remember that as they walk across the stage tonight. Work hard, chase after your dreams and goals, and always remember that success is not something defined by others, but that it's something we find in ourselves. Thank you."

I stood back from the podium, waiting for a reaction. I was nervous.

To my surprise, thunderous applause blasted through the auditorium. The graduates stood and gave me a standing ovation. Maya and Eric both had tears in their eyes.

I stepped down off of the stage, rejoining my peers in the audience with a smile plastered onto my face.

Eric wrapped his arm around me, and Maya grabbed my hand, softly crying and smiling. In the corner of my eye I could see my family crying and smiling in a similar manner, waving to me and holding each other's hands.

I couldn't wait to walk across that stage, and onto the great journeys life would lead me to next.

With my family by my side, I felt like I could do anything.


End file.
